


Nothing can Break This

by Dont_do_sadness



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alexander Hamilton - Freeform, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Anxiety, Eventual Smut, Fluff, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I'm a sucker for mullette so expect lots of sweet fluff, Jamilton - Freeform, John is a moody brood, Laf is nonbinary DEAL WITH IT, Lafayette needs to deal with their shit NOW, Meggy??, Multi, Peggy goes through a lot I'M SORRY, Thomas Jefferson - Freeform, Trauma, alex is oblivious, but also not sorry, but don't worry there's also lots of angst, but in the best way, im so ashamED, is that the ship name?, just read it and you'll see!, mullette, thomas is an ass, very gay, why is everyone so gay?, you may get a cavity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 05:40:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 22
Words: 109,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14074113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dont_do_sadness/pseuds/Dont_do_sadness
Summary: Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson are freshmen in college, both just trying to figure out where they belong. Though they're not alone, they have their friends by their side, they both feel a little lost and incomplete. That is, until they find each other.Lafayette is new to America and trying to run away from a terrible trauma, while Hercules is just trying to survive college. Neither of them knew that they needed each other as badly as they did until they're together.John is in love, but he can never admit it. He needs to make a decision before he loses the one he loves most.Maria is stuck, lost, and scared. Peggy is bright and optimistic, but she's haunted by a nightmare that she can't escape. If they are to survive this, they'll need to hold on to one another and they can't ever let go.It's college, it's a lot of hard work and late nights, but it's also a time to discover oneself and find your place in this world. Let's hope these guys can do it before they lose themselves trying.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I'm Laura and I'm super excited to share my work with you! This is my first ever fanfic on Ao3 so I'm new and super thrilled to be here. Just as a disclaimer, I'm only 15 and I don't know a lot about college so even though this is a college AU, it probably won't be totally accurate. That being said, this is all just for fun and a chance for me to publish my work and share it with others! I'm also very open to positive feedback and constructive criticism so if you have any, feel free to comment! I'm always looking for ways to improve! Also, I really really really love Hamilton an American Musical, but that was probably obvious. Ok, I'm really excited! Go forth and read and tell me what you think!

"Ok sweetie, everything's here! I guess this is goodbye huh?" Jane Jefferson said to her son as she stood in the doorway of his new dorm room. Thomas stood still inside the small space, gazing around in awe. He turned when he heard his mother say this and rolled his eyes.

"Can you stop calling me 'sweetie' now, Ma? I mean I'm fucking 19 now-" 

"Hey! Language! You may be old enough to live by yourself now but you're still my boy!" Jane cut him off with a stern voice. Thomas smiled and laughed, his mother may sound stern but he knew she wasn't really mad.

"Sorry Ma," he said with a childish grin. Jane smiled sadly and pulled Thomas in for a hug. "Oh! Ok Ma.... I get it," Thomas muttered as she hugged him. "Hush. Let me have this. My baby's all grown up!" Jane said, snivelling a little.

"Come now Jane, he's a grown ass man he'll be fine," Peter Jefferson said in his low rough voice. Thomas' expression hardened and he pulled away from his mom. He looked over at his father with a flat expression. He returned the same expression in exchange. His father was a force, even with his old age he still looked menacing. Thomas had learned how to deal with him over the years but he knew he'd never get over that tiny bit of fear that creeped up on him every time they spoke. Jane sighed and looked up at her son with one last smile.

"Ok," she said, "I'm ready." She turned and walked out the door, her husband following behind her. "Bye," Thomas called after them. Jane turned around to wave but her husband turned her back around and ushered her forward before she could.  
Thomas frowned and crossed his arms. He watched them make their way down the hall and then turn a corner, out of sight. 

"Thank God I'm a grown ass man and can get away from you!" Thomas hissed under his breath. He clenched his fists tight before letting out a breath and relaxing his hands. He threw his head back and fought back tears. 

"God! Fucking bastard," he muttered as he slammed his door. He turned to look at his new room and smiled a little. There were still so many things to unpack but he didn't care. This room was his and it was away from his son of a bitch father. He was going to be ok. He took a deep breath and sat on the edge of his bed. He pulled out his phone and slid it open. He went into his messages and taped on the one that said "Jemmy". 

To: Jemmy

Hey, I'm all unpacked, wanna hang?

He looked around the room as he waited for an answer. The walls were a light beige colour and the setting sun seemed to make them glow. He heard his phone buzz and he looked down at it.

From: Jemmy

Sure. Meet @ my dorm in 10?

Thomas smiled and typed, "K, c u soon," before getting off the bed and sliding his phone back in his pocket. He grabbed his jacket from the closet and slid it on. He stopped to check his hair in the mirror before walking out the door. He'd worry about unpacking later. 

He made his way down the halls and to James' room. He had been there yesterday before he had moved in. James had been his best friend all throughout high school and now they were going to the same college together. NYU, like they had planned since 9th grade. James was there for law school (to become a lawyer, ew) while Thomas was majoring in Political science. He felt relieved that he had at least one friend here with him, he wasn't ready to be completely alone yet. Plus, James was the one person he could always count on, the one person who knew him the best. He was there for Thomas all the times his father had gotten mad or too drunk, all the times Thomas had felt alone....

James was his best friend, there was no doubt. When he got to the right dorm he knocked softly. The door opened and behind it stood his best friend. Thomas smiled slyly and said, "Look at you, all grown up! Well, as much as you ever will grow." 

James frowned and rolled his eyes. He was short, only about 5'4, especially compared to Thomas who was a little over 6 feet. Thomas loved making fun of James' height and James put up with it for the most part, but Thomas couldn't stand when others took a crack at it. His excuse was that only he was aloud to tease him about his height. Thomas grinned happily down at his friend who was obviously already done with his shit. Still, James sighed and motioned Thomas to come in. 

"You know one of these days I'm just going to slam the door in your face," James muttered as Thomas closed the door behind him. James' dorm room was bigger than Thomas', but only because he had to share it with some other dude. Thomas hadn't met him yet but James said he was alright. Thomas strolled into the room and sat on James bed. 

"Awe c'mon! I know you'd never do that," he teased as he grinned at James. He rolled his eyes again but couldn't help the light laughter from escaping him. He didn't know how Thomas managed to do it but James could never stay mad at him for long. "So, how does your room look?" James asked as he sat across from Thomas on the bed.

"Like a bunch of boxes and a bare bed," he replied. "So you haven't unpacked yet?" James asked, cocking an eyebrow. Thomas shook his head and then said, "I have all of tonight to do that," with a shrug. James sighed and stood up. "No you don't. You need sleep at night. Come on, I'll help you," he sighed as he grabbed Thomas by the wrist and pulled him off the bed. 

"Ughh," Thomas whined as he followed behind James. "Why must you always be so responsible?" he complained as they walked back to Thomas' room. "Because I know you'll never be," James shot back with smirk. "Not true, I'm responsible!" Thomas said. James didn't say anything in return, he only chuckled to himself. 

"Well I can be if I wanted to," Thomas muttered, rolling his eyes. They arrived at his dorm and Thomas unlocked the door. Immediately upon seeing the mess of boxes and unpacked things, James sighed deeply. "It's not that much," Thomas said as he shut the door behind him.

"Yeah we'll see.... just please tell me you didn't pack your entire closet," James muttered while running his hand down his face. "Ha! You're hilarious!" Thomas shot back. "Whatever. We better get started," James replied as he opened a box. 

\------

John Laurens must have spent twenty minutes wandering around one of the huge dorm buildings of NYU, but finally he seemed to have found his place. He looked at his registration papers once last time for confirmation and then back up at the door in front of him. 

"219... I guess this is it," he muttered to himself as he got out his key. The door unlocked and opened for him, exposing a small room with two beds and a small desk between them. He looked at the bed on the left, it was empty, as were the walls around it. He looked to the bed on the right and narrowed his eyes in confusion. There were sheets and a blanket and pillow on the bed already, they were dark blue and red and white. The walls around it were covered in pictures and posters. There were pictures of the French flag, the Eiffel Tower, a map of- he assumed- France. There was even an Eiffel Tower shaped lamp on the desk beside the bed. 

"What the fuck?" he muttered under his breath as he stared at it with a confused expression. His set his two bags and a suitcase down beside the empty bed and walked up to the weird decorations. He stared at what appeared to be a painting of a field of flowers and jumped when he heard someone clear their throat. He turned around to see a tall dark man standing in the doorway with a small box in his hands. He was wearing black jeans, a black and white stripped shirt, a dark grey vest, and a red scarf tied around his neck. He had a friendly smile on his face and a kind look in his hazel eyes. 

"Hello! You must be the John Laurens! I am your roommate!" he said in a strange accent to match his strange appearance.  
John gaped at the man as he moved inside the room and set down the box on his bed. 

"Sure..." John said uncertainly. "And... who are you?" he asked warily as the man turned to face him again. 

"Oh! My name is Marquis de Lafayette but you can call me Lafayette or Laf if you like," he said with a smile. He reached out his hand to shake John's. He shook it slowly and then pulled it back again. "Uh huh," John said, still a little unsure of what was happening.

"Sorry but umm, I- I thought I was getting a different- umm- roommate," John said as he ran his hand through his long curly, light brown hair. Lafayette looked at him oddly and than nodded his head in comprehension. "Ah yes, the people at the front say I am moved here and the other person is to be moved somewhere else? I am not completely certain where but that is what I have been told," Lafayette replied in his accent. 

"Oh," John replied. He didn't know what to say or what to think even. He thought that he and his friend Hercules Mulligan would be sharing a dorm, he wondered what happened. He pulled out his phone to call his friend, but it went to voicemail. 

"Hey Herc, it's me. Where the fuck are you? Call me back ok?" he said into the phone before hanging up. He put his phone away and sighed. Lafayette shifted uncomfortably and fiddled with the small items in his box. 

"I-!" he started as John turned to look at him questioningly. He sighed and tried again. "I am sorry if this is bad for you. I can ask them if it is possible to move again-" "No! Oh god no this is fine! Sorry I'm just- a little confused..." John cut him off, running his hand through his hair again, a habit he did often. "It's not your fault. I just want to know why Herc bailed on me," John added. 

"Is this your friend? Your 'supposed to be roommate'?" Lafayette asked as he placed the trinkets on the desk. "Yeah... Hercules... he's my friend... even though he can be such a fucking dick," John muttered as he texted Herc repeatedly. 

To: Horse Fucker

Herc.  
Where are you?  
I thought we were gonna be roommates or whatever.  
What the fuck man?  
Hello?

There was no answer. John let out a groan of frustration and threw his phone on the bed. It bounced lightly before landing face-down. Lafayette blinked and stared at him. John laughed and dragged his hands down his face. 

"Sorry. I'm not usually this angry," John apologized. Lafayette opened his mouth to say that it was ok but someone cut him off. 

"Yes he is," a deep voice said suddenly. John turned to see Hercules standing in the doorway. "What the fuck man! Where have you been? Why weren't you answering me? What's going on-" John started listing off his questions angrily. "Calm down man! I did answer you! I just texted to say I was coming!" Hercules said as he put up his hands in defence. 

"No you didn't!" John snapped as he grabbed his phone from the bed. He turned it on to see two messages from Herc that said he was sorry and he was coming.

"Oh..." John muttered as he flushed in embarrassment. "Sorry about the whole room thing. My brother just got an apartment not far away and my mom thought if I stayed with him it would save money..." Hercules explained as his gaze wandered around the room. His words trailed off as his eyes landed on Lafayette who was sitting on the bed, staring at him. Hercules' heart did a little flutter, a tiny flutter, almost indistinguishable, but still there, as he caught the beautiful hazel eyes of this stranger. He mentally shook it off though and smirked when he noticed his outfit.

"Who's the fucking mime?" he said with a laugh as John noticed who he was talking about. "My new roommate since you fucking bailed," John complained as he crossed his arms. "Ok I told you, it's a money thing not a personal thing," Hercules explained as he turned back to John. Lafayette stood up and walked over. 

"Lafayette," he said with a smile as he held out his hand for Hercules. "I thought mimes were supposed to be silent?" Hercules teased as he shook his hand. "Non. It is my name. I am not a mime, although I appreciate the art," Lafayette replied with a grin. "You can call him Laf though," John muttered as he started to unpack his things. 

"Laugh? As in 'haha'?" Hercules asked the Frenchman. Lafayette snorted and shook his head. "Not quiet. It is spelt L. A. F. not L. A. U. G. H." he explained, "It is short for Marquis de Lafayette." Hercules raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms. 

"So you're like, completely foreign then?" Hercules teased some more. "Jesus Herc," John muttered from the other side of the small room. "What? I'm just pointing out the obvious," he replied. "No no, you are very clever. What gave it away? The pictures or the outfit?" Lafayette asked sarcastically. "Ha! So the French know sarcasm! You and me are going to get along nicely," Herc said as he patted Lafayette on the shoulder and moved past him to help John unpack. 

Laf eyed the stranger curiously, their interest in him growing. They smirked as they walked over to help, they were all unpacked now anyways so they could spare the time. 

They all helped John unpack and were finished by about 9. "So, it's still kinda early. Wanna get a drink?" Hercules asked.

\-----

The rush of a cool summer evening breeze entered the east dormitory building as Alexander Hamilton walked in through the doors. He gripped the strap of his book bag that was draped over his shoulder as he scurried up the stairs. He made it to his floor and tucked a stray piece of hair that had fallen out of his little ponytail behind his ear. He went to unlock his dorm room but noticed the door was already unlocked. He opened it cautiously and peered inside. There was a dark skinned man with a nearly shaven head inside the room and he jumped when he saw the door opening. 

"Can I help you?" he asked as he relaxed again and went back to unpacking a box. "Umm no... this is my room," Alex said as he pointed aimlessly to the middle of the room. 

The man raised his eyebrows and then nodded courtly. "Oh I see. I'm-" "Aaron Burr," Alex cut the man off. He peered at Alexander curiously. 

"I know you. You're like a legend around here," Alex said with a laugh, suddenly realizing what he said may have come off as creepy. When Aaron looked at him with an even more confused expression he realized he still sound creepy. "In the political science program that is. I'm taking it too. This is my first year. Oh- I'm Alexander Hamilton by the way!" Alex spoke quickly as he tried to fix the situation, sticking out his hand to shake Aaron's. 

"Umm, nice to meet you?" he replied as he shook his hand. "So, we're like roommates now. Wow. I had no idea I'd be sharing a room with Aaron Burr," Alex laughed nervously and he dropped his bag on his already made bed. "Yes well, they had to move me because of limited rooms," he answered to the beaming Alexander. 

"Oh well, that's quiet unfortunate but at least they got you a room with someone with the same major, even though you're a year ahead. But that's ok, I'm sure I'll catch up. I mean I probably don't know half the things I need to yet but I'm a pretty fast learner and-"

"Whoa. Ok. Maybe calm down a little first?" Aaron cut Alex of from his rambling. 

"Right! Sorry! This is all just very new to me!" Alexander said with a nervous laugh. He twiddled his thumbs and shuffled his feet. Burr noticed the energy and nervousness just radiation off of the young man. He sighed quietly and silently scolded himself for what he was about to do. 

"Can I buy you a drink or something?" he asked. The little, over-excited Caribbean's head shot up and a wide smiled broke out on his face.

"That would be nice!" he said excitedly, but then his face fell as he realized something. "But umm, I'm not 21..." he said.

Aaron stood up and grabbed his wallet. "It's no big deal. I am and I know the guy who owns the bar across the street. You'll be fine," he said as he opened the door. 

"Coming?" he asked while holding the door open for Alexander. He smiled and nodded his head. They walked out of the dormitory building, across campus and then across the street. 

They walked into the bar easily and Aaron order two beers. The took their seats and Alexander instantly started babbling again. Aaron silently wondered why he did this. He just couldn't help but take pity on the freshman, plus he thought it would be better to teach him the ways of college before he was taught by someone less friendly. Their drinks came and Aaron handed Alexander his. 

"Here. Drink. And talk less," he said as Alex took the glass. "What?" he asked, his smile slowly fading. "Talk less. A mouth like that could get you into trouble here," he said as he sipped his drink. "What do you mean?" Alexander said as he laughed nervously. 

"I mean, just be careful what you say. There are people who are easily offended and you don't want to get on their bad side," Aaron replied simply. Alexander nodded in comprehension and drank his beer silently. He chocked a little at the bitter taste but played it off as a cough. Aaron raised an eyebrow and Alex laughed nervously and drank some more. Aaron was about to take another drink but lowered his glass when he saw some people enter. He frowned. This was about to either get interesting or messy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex meet Burr.  
> Alex meet John.  
> Alex meet Hercules.  
> Alex meet Laf.  
> Thomas meet Laf.  
> Thomas meet John and Hercules.  
> Thomas meet... short, angry gremlin???
> 
> And so the introductions continue and the characters meet... maybe causing small disputes when they do... oops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well look at that, I managed to post on time despite having like three tests to study for:,) Anyways. Enjoy chapter 2!
> 
> Also, there's some French in this chapter (Thomas and Laf like flirting in French for some reason) so I put the translations in the bottom notes. And let me know if I made any mistakes in the translations... I'm fluent in French and English but French is still my second language so I tend to make more mistakes there.

"Ok, see over there? Those are the guys who you don't want to associate yourself with."

Aaron pointed in the direction of the door. Alexander turned to see three men walk in. One had caramel skin with a bushel of light brown hair and a million freckles. Another one was tall and dark skinned, with a poof of curly black hair tied back and wearing a rather interesting outfit. The other one was darker still with a broad chest and had short curly black hair. They were all laughing and waltzed right in like they owned the place. The freckled one ordered drinks while the other two snickered and shoved each other. Alexander peered at them, wide eyed. He watched them banter and chuckle, curiously wondering what about.

"Why?" Alex asked, without turning back around. He wanted to know what Burr had against these guys, they seemed harmless, if not a little drunk, to him. "Well actually I have no idea who the tall guy with the weird outfit is but the other two are John Laurens and Hercules Mulligan. They're a little crazy," Aaron responded as the trio made their way over to them. 

"Crazy? Crazy how?" Alex asked, but his question had to go unanswered since they were interrupted by the freckled one, waltzing up and throwing his arm around Burr's shoulder in a fashion that was obviously far too friendly for Burr's liking. Alex snickered a little as he watched the man squirm under John Laurens' arm.

"Yoooo! Aaron Burr! What's NYU's finest doing here?!" John slurred drunkenly and right into Aaron's ear, causing the poor man to wince in pain and try to pull away, even though his attempts failed. 

"Having a drink with a friend, is that against the law?" Aaron responded coolly as he tried to wiggle out of John's grip. "It is when you're under 21," John said with a laugh, taking humour in his own joke, something Burr certainly did not.

"Yeah, isn't that your problem? And- are you already drunk? You just got here," Aaron said, voice dripping with disdain and disapproval. John took his arm off and rolled his eyes. "Jeez, who put a stick up your ass?" he said sluggishly as the other two snickered. "Awh c'mon Burr! We know you're no fun but don't ruin ours," Hercules chimed in as well as they sat down at the table beside Alex's and Aaron's. 

Alex studied the three of them, they didn't seem that bad. They actually seemed like people he wanted to be friends with, all of them having a good time laughing with each other, he longed for that. And he liked the way they seemed very close to one another. His eyes fluttered back to the freckled one, staring at his huge brown eyes. He blushed when he suddenly realized he was staring back at him. 

"Who's your friend Burr?" John asked as he slid his elbow on the table, propping his head on his hand and looking up at Alex through hooded eyelashes and thick eyebrows. He had a sly smile on his lips as he tilted his beer back, pressing it to his lips. Alex felt his face redden as he saw John's tongue flick out and lick the brim of the bottle, quickly enough so that only he noticed. Alex looked away, absolutely flustered and embarrassed at how red his cheeks probably were.

"Yes, who are you?" the one with the weird outfit chimed in with an interesting accent rolling of his tongue. The last one looked at him and they all stared at him questioningly, John still gazing at him flirtatiously with his eyebrows raised as if to ask the silent question of who he was. He swallowed nervously.

"Umm, I'm Alexander Hamilton," he said as he smiled, trying his best to sound confident but mostly failing. The trio looked at him for a second, eyeing him curiously. He shrank under the scrutinized looks.

"Cool. I'm Hercules Mulligan, that's John Laurens," one of them said while pointing at himself and then to the freckled one, which Alexander had already known was John from Burr's introduction, feeling slightly stupid at not piecing together that this one must be Hercules Mulligan by default, since Burr said he didn't know who the Frenchman was. And as if Hercules had read Alexander's thoughts (or just getting to the nest person who needs to be introduced, Jesus Hamilton) he answered the last question for Alex.

"And this is the French fuck, Marcus da Lafayeet!" he sang drunkenly as he pointed exaggeratedly to the oddly dressed man. Lafayette chocked on his drink as he laughed at Hercules' mispronunciation. 

"Mon dieu, non! It is Marquis de Lafayette! But you can call me Laf," he said as he stuck out his hand to Alex. He shook it and realized with surprise the Laf was actually the only one of them still decently sober. 

"Alright, you've met. Now we should be going," Aaron said suddenly as he got up. Alex read the impatient and slightly aggravated look on his face, even though he shielded it fairly well. Alexander realized then and there that Burr was the type to try and conceal his true thoughts and opinions, a general pet peeve of his, and immediately he began to like Burr a little less. 

"Awh, Burr!" "Boo!" Hercules and John complained in unison, Hercules even shoving a hand with his thumb down in disapproval into Burr's face. But Aaron was already walking away, shaking his head in disapproval. He turned around and gave Alex an expectant look.

"Are you coming, Hamilton?" Aaron asked inquisitively. Alex looked at Burr and then back at the three drunk bafoons in front of him. He felt his mouth twitch up in a smile.

"I think I'll stay a little while actually," he replied without taking his eyes off the loud trio. Burr paused, slightly shocked, and then shrugged and headed out the door. He had warned Alexander so he considered his job was done. If he wanted to get into trouble with those loud, rambunctious, childish boys, that was his business, not Burr's. He left the bar with a frustrated huff.

"So, Alexander, what's your major?" John asked as Alex came to sit at their table. He blinked, slightly taken aback by the sudden interest taken to him and the attention he was getting. He was more used to being in the shadows, unnoticed, like he had been back on Nevis, his home, his island. No one seemed to notice him there, he was just another poor, starving orphan, working his ass off to get a job and some money so he could fend for himself, like he had always done. 

"Political Science. And you?" he asked politely, deciding not to dwell on the past and instead build a new future here, one with friends. And the way to do that... talk to new people! Because he was SO good at doing that...

"Eww, so you're like a mini Burr," John replied, scrunching his nose up in distaste. Alex liked the way he did that- it was cute, endearing even. "I'm studying bio and med. I wanna be a vet," John said casually as he took another swig. Alexander nodded, thinking about how good or bad John would be at taking care of animals. He didn't know him too well yet, but something told him that John was the type of person who was short-tempered and hot headed on the outside, but completely soft and caring on the inside. He smiled at the thought.

He then looked at Hercules as if to ask him the same question. "Fashion and Design," he recited, as if he'd been asked a thousand times and responding in this way was now second nature. Hercules rolled his eyes when John started snickering. Alex turned to the freckled man and raised an eyebrow, curious as to what he found comical about this.

"What's so wrong with that?" Alex asked as John started to laugh hysterically. John didn't answer his question though, instead Hercules did, and rather bluntly at that.

"He thinks it's incredibly gay," Hercules responded, voice monotone, almost bored.

Alexander raised his eyebrows, mouth dropping wide. He suddenly felt very awkward in the situation. He needed to reply- needed to say something, NOW. "Well I don't think-" he started.

"It's ok man! He doesn't mean it as offensive. He just thinks it's ironic," Hercules but in, obviously observing how uncomfortable Alexander had suddenly gotten. But his words only sparked new questions and curiosities in Alexander's mind, prompting him to poke and prod some more.

"How so?" Alexander asked, his brow furrowed, his eyes intense with the desire for knowledge. He can see Hercules go to answer the question, but they're interrupted by the eruption of John's laughter.

"It's because-! He chose literally the gayest- pfffft- major and- hahaha- he's actually gay-" John stuttered through laughter, inelegantly banging his fist on the table and doubling over. Hercules rolled his eyes at his friend, seemingly unfazed by his outburst- something Alex strongly wished he was. 

"Oh! That's umm-" Alexander cut himself off. He didn't know what to say. Fuck, he never knew what to say. Not when it was real conversation with other people in person. Sure, he was brilliant with a pen, he could write palaces out a paragraphs. But social interaction- and especially with strangers- was not his strong suit. Fortunately, his newfound company was relaxed and easy-going, not seeming to care about his awkwardness.

"It's cool man. I'm used to it," Hercules said with a laugh. He did seem fine so Alex let it go, more than a little relieved that Hercules was ok with whatever John was putting out there. He assumed that the two of them were best friends of some sort, the easy connection between them was proof of that, and that they were used to each other's antics. Alex suddenly felt a pang of jealously ring through him. He had always wished for a friend like that, one who could read his mind and put up with him because they knew him so well. He desperately wanted that, wanted that feeling of belonging.

He tried to shake it off, tried to get out of his head and back into the present. After all, these people were at least talking to him, maybe he had a shot at finding some friends, and he was not about to throw away his shot. That was something Alexander Hamilton would never do. He didn't run from problems, he faced head on and with the ferocity of a lion. He'd always imagined what it would be like to go to war, to literally face his opponent and charge at them with no fear, only courage and bravery running through him. Imagined what it would be like to fight for something greater than him, greater than he could ever create, something as big as a nation, his nation. But alas, there isn't a war, only a college campus awaiting him.

Alex turned his attention to the French boy... Laf! Right. He was examining Hercules with a curious eye and seemed to be debating something in his head. Eventually he turned and noticed Alex's stare. Alex smiled and he smiled back, and then he spoke. 

"So, you are gay?" he asked, as if searching for confirmation. Hercules raised an eyebrow but nodded his head anyways. Lafayette nodded, but he seemed out of it, distant, like he was in a world of his own within his mind. They all waited for him to speak, since it seemed as though he was going to again, he just had to work up the courage. 

"Well then," he started, clearing his throat. He sat up straight, took a deep breath and lengthened his spine so he became taller, exerting confidence. "I am non-binary, so I would prefer you use the pronouns they and them when addressing me."

Alex felt his stomach twist in guilt. This whole time he had been referring to Laf as a "him", and even if he may not have addressed him specifically like that, he still felt bad for not even asking. This was 2017 after, times were changing and it was his job to make sure everyone feels comfortable with who they are when they're around him.

Alex saw Hercules and John turn to look at Laf. They looked slightly surprised and guilty, obviously having the same conversation in their heads as Alexander was in his. Lafayette flicked their eyes across each of them, fear suddenly visible on their expression. Alex felt another pang of guilt shoot through him as he realized they were making them more nervous by not saying anything, they had just come out after all. Alex opened his mouth but Hercules beat him to it, interrupting the sudden awkward silence.

"Of course! Sorry I didn't ask I just-"

"No! No no! It is no problem! At all! Really," Laf stopped him, relief flooding their face. Herc smiled and nodded, saying, "alright then. Someone get Laf a refill on their drink!" 

Lafayette's face broke out into a wide smile and they pushed their shoulders back, looking much more confident now that they knew they were supported. Alexander was quick to agree with Hercules. 

"You can be yourself around me, you don't have to worry, Laf," he said, smiling reassuringly. John nodded in agreement and added that if anyone tried to disrespect Laf by NOT using their appropriate pronouns, he would gladly punch them in the face. Everyone laughed even though John seemed to be quite serious.

Eventually, Alex stood up and all eyes turned to him. "I'm going up, I need a refill anyways. Do you guys want something?" he asked, gesturing to the other two. "Uhh, yeah sure. Get us another beer while you're up there," Herc said. John started to protest but Alex was already going. "Thanks Alex!" John called back to him. Alex waved him off as if to say "no problem." The last thing he heard was Hercules bragging about his "mad pool skills" and how he could beat "any of you bitches". John then said something to retaliate but it was lost in the noise as Alex made his way to the bar.

\-----

"Ok that's everything! Now can we please go have some fun!" Thomas drawled from his place, lying on the floor while James packed away the empty boxes. 

"I don't know Thomas... it's late and there's class tomorrow..." James trailed off. 

"Pleeeeaaaaase!" Thomas wined as he sat up to look at James. 

He looked back with a hard expression that eventually softened when Thomas pulled his pleading puppy-dog face. "Fine! But not too late!" James gave in, but not before sternly laying out the rules. Thomas stood up and scoffed. "Ok thanks mom," he said with a laugh. 

"I'm taking that as a compliment, you're mom's a badass," James replied as they walked out the dorm.

"Yeah if only she'd take a hint and leave my father already," Thomas muttered. "Hey, they love each other and you know that. At least you don't have to see him as much anymore," James reasoned softly as he took Thomas' hand. Thomas pulled it away, not exactly wanting his friend's sympathy at the moment, but nodded anyways. 

"Yeah you're right.... God why are you always right?" he said with a laugh. "It's both a gift and a curse," James replied. They both laughed and then James asked, "Where are we going exactly?" 

"I heard there's a bar close to campus?" Thomas replied, a smirk forming on his lips. He knew James hated bars and loud clubs, too many people and too much noise for him, but Thomas loved them, so they were going, whether he liked it or not. James sighed, bowed his head and slumped his shoulders, but still said, "Fine. Not long though!" 

"Sir yes sir!" Thomas said as he fake saluted. "Oh my god you are such a dork," James muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose as they walked out of the building. 

It didn't take them long to find the bar. It was a little ways off campus but close enough to house all of the students. When Thomas and James arrived the bar was already packed and screaming with loud music. Thomas felt his body buzz with excitement and turned to give James a wild grin. James glared at him and sighed. Bars and partying weren't exactly the man's favourite thing. But Thomas was more than ready to get in there and have fun. He bounced up to the door and opened it for James. They both walked into the chaos bearing very different expressions. Thomas'; excitement and awe, James'; disgust and dread.

"Hey, do you wanna find us a place to sit?" Thomas asked James, well, more like shouted. 

"I don't think there is anywhere to sit!" James shouted back. Thomas shrugged and walked further into the crowd. James hesitated, but then decided to follow him. 

"I don't understand why you like this so much," he called from behind Thomas. "What's not to love?" Thomas asked over his shoulder. "Oh I don't know, the blaring music? The huge crowd? The smell?" James muttered to himself, but whether Thomas heard him or not, he'll never know because he doesn't respond either way. Eventually, Thomas managed to pull James through the crowd and to a table in the corner. They sat down and immediately James put his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. "I already have a massive headache," he groaned. 

"Don't be like that," Thomas said, gently swatting James on the back of his head. James looked up and glared at Thomas. 

"Ow," he said, his voice monotone and not really conveying that he was hurt, just that he felt the need to exclaim that he was.

Thomas grinned and threw his head back in a laugh. "Come on! Have fun! Please?" Thomas asked, pouting. 

"Hey, I agreed to come, not to have fun," James reasoned, immediately finding the loophole in their little agreement for the night. Thomas rolled his eyes. James would make a great lawyer some day, especially with all the practice he gets arguing with Thomas. 

"Fine," Thomas resigned. "But I'm going to have fun," and with that, Thomas stood up and flashed James a cocky grin. "Good for you," James said as he put his head back in his hands. Thomas did and little wave with his fingers and sauntered back into the crowd. 

It was busy, packed actually, and he had to carefully manoeuvre around all the bodies so as not to end up on the floor or stuck to someone by their sweat. He cringed a little as he walked past a couple making out very passionately in the middle of the dance floor, wrinkling his nose in disgust. He wondered why some people felt the need to display their affection so blatantly. 

He eventually reached the bar and ordered a drink. While he waited he gazed around at the people there. They all seemed young, most likely students, and they were all drinking and laughing and dancing with friends. Thomas suddenly felt self-conscious about being alone. He decided to go back to James when his drink came. But then something caught his eye. Or rather, someone. 

"Twelve sixty," the bartender said, stealing Thomas' attention. He paid the man and took his drink. He went to walk back to James but stopped, and decided to visit the person he'd noticed before. Although, he wasn't quite sure if it was them. They definitely looked familiar, but Thomas wanted to be sure before approaching them. 

He made his way to the pool table where the person was standing. They were with a group of people but they weren't playing themselves. Thomas noticed their black curly hair in a ponytail and remembered that's exactly how they wore it back then too. Yes, Thomas was sure this was his friend from France when he did his exchange a couple years ago. Although, back then Lafayette didn't have stubble and they looked much older now, more mature. Thomas walked up to them and taped them on the shoulder. Lafayette turned their head, their hair floof bouncing as they did. They looked at Thomas with confusion and then compete bewilderment.

"Lafayette?" Thomas asked cautiously, suddenly doubting his previous assumption. But his doubts flew away as a look of recognition swept across Lafayette's face. 

"Thomas?!" they asked incredulously, eyeing Thomas up and down in disbelief, as if it were a miracle Thomas was there, which it wasn't, but it was a pretty big coincidence.

"Yes! How are you! What are you doing here?!" Thomas asked with a smile, mirroring Lafayette's expression of disbelief and contentment. Lafayette smiled back, so wide it filled their whole face, and answered, "I am going to school here! Are you as well?" Thomas nodded and they both shared a laugh. Thomas couldn't believe it! How small could the world possible be? 

Lafayette suddenly shook their head, as if to wake them from the spell they were under, and reached out to hug Thomas, pulling him in tight. Thomas reciprocated and didn't recoil when Lafayette placed a kiss on either of his cheeks. He was used to the way the French greeted people after spending nearly a year there on an exchange through his high school. Lafayette pulled away and shook their head again, disbelief still playing across their features.

"Parles-tu le français encore?" Laf asked suddenly, easily switching into French. Thomas grinned wickedly and switched into his second language. 

"Bien sûr," he said, "Pourquoi abandonner une langue si belle?" The accent rolled easily off his tongue easily, despite him not having spoken French since high school. 

Lafayette laughed and nodded their head. "Je me rappelle de comment t'adore la France," Lafayette said with a laugh. And they were right about that, Thomas loved France. He loved everything about it, from the food to the wine to the clothes to the people to the language itself. Everything about France fascinated and entranced him.

"Et pourquoi pas? C'est le plus beau pays au monde!" Thomas replied, using exaggerated hand gestures. Lafayette snorted and rolled their eyes. They were obviously still familiar with the way Thomas got so excited when speaking about France, they dare even say that Thomas loved France more than they did, even though it's their home. 

"C'est incroyable que nous nous rencontrons ici," Lafayette said with a smile, looking up with a dazed look in their eyes.

"Oui, très bizzare aussi. Peutêtre que c'est nôtre destin," Thomas said with a cocky smirk and a wink. Lafayette's eyebrows shot up and a smirk formed on their own face. "Je pense que vous avez bu trops, Monsieur Thomas," Lafayette teased as they pulled the beer out of Thomas' hands. 

Thomas laughed and swatted their arm playfully. "Et c'est un problème? Si je me souviens correctement, t'amais quand je me rendais ivre," Thomas replied slyly. His whole persona was just the flurtiest you could get. He smiled smoothly and leaned in close to Lafayette, his hand still resting on their arm. Laf looked slightly flustered but they kept their cool, more then used to Thomas' flirtatious personality. They even go as far to roll their eyes at Thomas. 

"Vous êtes encore la même personne," they sighed and removed Thomas' hand from their arm. 

"Alors je suis encore la meilleure personne," Thomas replied smoothly, snatching his drink back. Lafayette snorted and rolled their eyes yet again.

"Non. Just a major flirt," they replied, switching back to English. 

"Hey Laf! You want in on the next game?" a man from across the pool table yelled out suddenly

Thomas turned his head, suddenly realizing him and Laf weren't the only ones in the bar. The man who had asked this was fairly tall and muscular, Thomas would have found him intimidating if it weren't for his obviously drunk and goofy demeanour. He laughed with another man, a brunette with a million freckles, as they played the worst pool game ever. He raised an eyebrow slightly distastefully at the way they yelled and stumbled about. What could these bafoons want with Lafayette?

"No, thank you," they responded, earning a curious look from Thomas. Well, at least they still had the brains Thomas remembered them having to see that playing with these two drunk idiots wouldn't turn out well. 

Thomas then felt Lafayette's hand gently take his arm and pull him towards the two men playing pool. "Come. Meet my friends," Laf said as they pulled Thomas along. He instantly filled with dread, suppressing a loud groan, but let Lafayette drag him away anyways.

"Hercules! This is Thomas Jefferson, Thomas, this is Hercules Mulligan," Lafayette introduced Thomas to the black man. Up close, Thomas realized he actually wasn't that tall. Perhaps it was just the size of his muscles or the way he carried himself that made him seem larger than he was. Thomas nodded in his direction and Hercules returned the nod. At least this one didn't seem so bad...

"And this is John Laurens. John! This is- JOHN!" Lafayette grabbed ahold of the freckled man who was laughing hysterically at something. Thomas watched as this John guy stumbled away by the force of Lafayette's grip.

"Whaaaaat?" He whined as Lafayette pulled him away. 

"This is Thomas. He is my friend from France," Lafayette explained, gesturing to Thomas who was staring at John with what he hoped was an unimpressed expression.

John nodded and then started giggling again. "So you have the accent too?" he asked through laughter. Thomas fought the urge to roll his eyes, choosing instead to try and be polite.

"No... I'm not from France, I just studied there for a year," he explained slowly, as if it dumb it down for the appallingly drunk man. John nodded as if he understood- what a miracle that would be- and then turned to Hercules. 

"Are they twins or something?" he asked Hercules in what was probably supposed to be a whisper but was more than loud enough for Thomas and Laf to hear. Thomas found himself suppressing another groan of frustration. 

"Non," Laf started, and Thomas was thankful they answered because he wasn't too sure he could keep the disgust out of his voice this time. "We get that a lot though," Laf added. And it was true, they did. Thomas remembered how many times people got them confused in France. It was actually one of the ways they had gotten to be so close during his exchange. Thomas smiled at the memory. 

"So... you..." Hercules trailed off while pointing at Thomas, a look a concentration on his face, looking as though he was trying to remember something. Thomas connected the pieces and understood because, unlike some people, he did not get hammered the day before classes start.

"... Thomas" Thomas finished for him dryly. 

"Right! Do you wanna play?" Hercules nearly shouted while gesturing to the table. Thomas, surprising even himself, actually considered it for a moment but then shook his head. 

"No, I should get back to my friend," he said. Hercules nodded and turned his attention to John who was furiously poking him on the shoulder. 

"What?" Hercules asked, obviously annoyed. "Where did Alex go?" John shouted drunkenly. 

"To get drinks! Now quit poking me!" Hercules said as he shoved John to the side. 

"Well how long does that take?" John asked exasperatedly. 

"Why're you all worried?" Hercules asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Hey, I just want my Sam Adams!" John said as he put his hands up in defence. Hercules rolled his eyes and went back to the game. Thomas raised his eyebrow, wondered if they were done with their little argument yet, and then took that as he cue to leave and turned to Lafayette. 

"Peutêtre qu'on rencontre encore? Bientôt?" Thomas asked with a sly smile as he ran his hand up and down their bicep. Laf bite their lip and leaned in close to Thomas' face.

"Perhaps," they purred, the r rolling off their tongue in their French accent. Then, Lafayette smirked and went to join their drunk friends. Thomas smiled and chuckled to himself. He quite liked Lafayette but not as anything more than friends. He did however, like to flirt with then. Actually, he liked to flirt with everyone. Laf was right when they called him a huge flirt. Thomas took off into the crowd to find James.

Finding him wasn't that hard, James was still at the table where Thomas had left him. He looked up and instant relief flooded his face when he saw Thomas.

"Thank god! Can we leave?" James asked desperately, standing up. 

"But we just-" Thomas started. "Please!" James practically begged, grabbing onto Thomas' arm desperately. Thomas laughed and shook his head. 

"Yeah, I guess you've suffered enough," he caved. James breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you!" he said, entirely sincerely. Thomas often wondered what was wrong with his little friend. But it didn't matter, this was his best friend and Thomas didn't want to cause him any more suffering than he already had. He just hoped that James would loosen up eventually and enjoy himself. Thomas is determined to get this to happen by the end of first semester. 

They made their way into the crowd and toward the exit. Thomas was leading the way, as usual, and managed to make it close to the bar where there was less of a crowd. He looked back for James and noticed he was still in the crowd, trying to push his way through. Thomas was just about to stop and wait for him when the his front connected with something cold and solid. Suddenly, there was a shout and a crash and Thomas felt something drench his shirt. He whirled his head around to see what had happened. In front of him was a shorter man with brown hair tied up in a ponytail. He was carrying three glasses and staring down at the ground. Thomas followed his gaze to see and fourth glass broken on the floor. Thomas suddenly realized what he was drenched in. 

The man shot his head up to glare at Thomas. The look of frustration took Thomas by surprise, after all, he had run until Thomas, not vice versa.

"Maybe watch where you're going next time?" the small man sneered. A wave of shock and anger flooded over Thomas at these words. Or maybe it wasn't even the words, it was the look on his face- actually, no- his face as a whole. Thomas exhaled hotly.

"Excuse me?" he asked incredulously. The man in front of him grinded his jaw and huffed annoyingly. 

"You're excused. Now step your ass aside," he snarled as he took a threatening step towards Thomas. Thomas filled with even more anger and stared down the little man. "What's your problem? You ran into me," Thomas scoffed. The boy's eyes lit up in anger and Thomas could see his jaw clench tighter. 

For a second Thomas thought the man was going to jump on him and he was fully prepared to reciprocate the action. But then, Thomas felt someone grip his arm. He whipped his head around to see James looking at him sternly. It was one of those looks he gave Thomas when he was getting out of line. 

Thomas, still pretty angry, looked into James' eyes and came to his senses, realizing it was probably not a good idea to get into a fight. He took a deep breath and turned back to the boy in front of him. But the boy was gone. Thomas turned around to find him. Eventually, he caught sight of the back of his ponytail bobbing as he moved through people. Thomas flared with anger again but decided not to pursue the infuriating stranger. He turned around on his heels and marched angrily out of the bar. James was right on his heels.

"Hey! What happened back there?" James asked when they finally made it outside. Thomas could still barely contain his anger, and huffed at the memory of it. 

"That little shit ran into me and spilt beer all over me," Thomas seethed through gritted teeth. He motioned to his wet shirt and James nodded once he saw it. 

"And then he had the audacity to be rude to me!" Thomas finished, fists balling in anger. James' expression was completely neutral, almost bored even. This wasn't the first time Thomas had gotten so frustrated about ruined clothes. Clothes were very important to Thomas, as was his hair. And James knew this very well so he was used to this sort of behaviour. 

He kept his voice as calm and reasonable as possible as he said, "Well, at least you'll never have to see him again." Thomas glanced at him and then barked a laugh. 

"Yeah, I guess you have a point," he admitted. "Ok. Let's get back to the dorm before this stains."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, thanks for reading! Make sure to comment your reactions/feedback/suggestions! I'm always happy to hear from you! Also, thanks to all of you who left kudos, it really means a lot! I know there's only like 11 or 12 of you so far but honestly, even having just one person enjoy my work makes me so happy you have no idea. So when you times that by twelve... yeah I'm kind of freaking out. Anyways, thanks for reading and all see you all next week for chapter 3! 
> 
> (Also, sorry for the abrupt ending... it was already 5.5k and I didn't know how else to end it.)
> 
> Translations:
> 
> Parles-tu le français encore- do you still speak French?
> 
> Bien sûr, pourquoi abandonner une langue si belle - of course, why abandon such a beautiful language?
> 
> Je me rappelle de comment t'adore la France- I remember how much you love France
> 
> Et pourquoi pas? C'est le plus beau pays au monde- And why not? It's the most beautiful country in the world
> 
> C'est incroyable que nous nous rencontrons ici- it's unbelievable that we run into each other here
> 
> Oui, très bizzare aussi. Peutêtre que c'est nôtre destin- yeah, weird too. Maybe it's out destiny
> 
> Je pense que vous avez bu trops, Monsieur Thomas- I think you've had too much to drink, Mr Thomas
> 
> Et c'est un problème? Si je me souviens correctement, t'amais quand je me rendais ivre- And why is that a problem? If I'm remembering correctly, you quite liked it when I got drunk
> 
> Vous êtes encore la même personne- You're still the same person
> 
> Alors je suis encore la meilleure personne- then I'm still the best person
> 
>  
> 
> Hope that helped a little^^^^


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am 15 and I know nothing about college so don't expect this to be realistic BUT it's the first day of school and Thomas learns who the little gremlin is. Things get heated. meanwhile, you get Lafayette's point of view... yeah they have some problems they need to deal with but you'll find that out later. Wow, this is a great chapter summary. I am a fantastic writer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Easter to all who celebrate it! And if you don't, have a great day anyways! Ok, so this chapter is pretty darn long, I was gonna split it into two chapters but I'm impatient and I just want this story to progress sooooo yeah. Oh well. Also, the schuyler sisters are in the next chapter and I REALLY want to post that chapter so this way and can do that sooner! Anyways, enjoy this long ass chapter and I'll see you next Monday.

John woke up at 7am to the sound of his screaming alarm... or rather Lafayette's screaming alarm. He couldn't see anything behind his eyelids but blackness and he couldn't feel anything but his head pounding, feeling as though it was going to combust at any second. He groaned and dragged his hands down his face. This was not how he wanted to die, but it seemed as though he was going to anyway.

"Shut that off," he groaned unhappily as the alarm continued to beep. His head was completely fine with thumping painfully on it's own, he didn't need the incessant beeping as well. But the beeping continued.

"Laaaffff..." he whined because it seemed as the annoyingly high-pitched screaming was getting louder by the second. 

"Sorry, mon ami, but maybe if you did not have so much to drink last night you would be able to wake up easier, yes?" a voice with a French accent said from across the room. John groaned again and rubbed his eyes. The beeping then stopped, and he nearly cried for joy. He could hear Lafayette, his roommate, moving around. And then something even worse than the beeping happened, the light was turned on. 

John screwed his eyes shut tight as the blinding light burned his eyes. He flailed to cover his eyes with his hands. "Agh!" he yelled so eloquently in protest. 

Lafayette rolled their eyes at their roommate. Could he get any more pathetic? They figured it served them right for letting their friends get so hammered the day before their first day of school. They sighed as they walked over to John and pulled his hands away from his eyes.

"Why are you doing this to me?" John whimpered as if Lafayette was torturing him or something. "Because you need to be awake. It is the first day of class and we have orientation at 8," Laf explained sternly. John glared up at them with red eyes and Laf sighed. "You look awful," they muttered as they shook their head disapprovingly. John frowned, obviously offended. "Well fuck you," he said as he sat up. Lafayette snorted in response and went back to getting ready for the day.

\-----

James had gotten into the habit of taking care of Thomas, somehow resuming the role of the "dad friend" who was always the responsible one, the one who made sure his other, more reckless friends were ok. So, it came as second nature to him to check up on Thomas and he didn't even have to think twice about walking over to Thomas' room at 7:45 in the morning and knocking on his door to make sure he was up. He could hear footsteps from inside and then the door opened. Thomas was fully dressed in what James knew to be one of his favourite outfits, dark magenta jeans with a collared shirt the same colour but in a lighter shade, and his favourite navy blue bomber jacket. However, Thomas had a comb poised to his hair in one hand and a can of hair spray in the other, obviously in the middle of his daily hair routine. James smiled at the obviously annoyed look on Thomas' face. He hated it when someone interrupted his hair routine. 

"Can I help you, James?" he asked, monotone, as he went back into his room, back to look in the mirror of course. James shook his head in reply, but then realized the only thing Thomas was looking at was his reflection and decided a verbal answer would probably be best.

"Just wanted to see if you were up," he replied, and walked into the room as well, closing the door behind him. "We have orientation in a few minutes," James added. He knew Thomas' hair routine could take awhile, so it was best to let him know of the ticking clock early. Thomas rolled his eyes to himself in the mirror. 

"I know! I'm almost done!" he protested as he set a few more curls in place. He checked the mirror one last time and spun around to look at James, flashing him a charming smile. "Perfect, ain't it?" he asked, his southern accent poking out more than James' did. "Yes, now can we go?" James said impatiently. Thomas rolled his eyes once more and grabbed his book bag from his bed. "Of course," he drawled as he passed James and went to open the door for him.

"Thank god," James muttered under his breath.

They headed out of the dormitory building and onto the campus. James remembered where the hall was from their tour a couple weeks ago. They arrived just on time as everyone else took their seats. James and Thomas took two seats beside each other and listened as a tall, fierce looking man in the centre of the hall cleared his threat, such a small, simple sound, yet it seemed to echo around the room loudly.

"Good morning everyone," the man said, his voice booming through the hall. Instantly, all chatter ceased as everyone became captivated by the man's obviously powerful voice. "My name is George Washington and I am the head of the political science department at NYU. You may recognize my name from your time tables, in which case I'm very excited to have you as a student this year," he went on. 

Thomas picked his head up at this, realizing he did recognize the name. He whipped out his schedule and saw the name Washington printed under his intro to political science class. He turned his attention back to Washington quickly, wanting to listen to him more intently after realizing he'd be one of his teachers. The lecture went on and covered the usual things an orientation lecture would: the rules of the school, how to act properly, the consequences for bad behaviour, yadah yadah yadah. Thomas would normally have fallen asleep right then and there if it hadn't been for how captivating Professor Washington spoke, the sheer passion oozing from his voice with all the force of a great typhoon. He hung on his every word, feeling as if he missed something he said, he'd miss something terrible important, because Washington spoke as if every word he uttered was of utmost importance. 

Thomas glanced around the room quickly, curious to see if the other students were under the same effect as he. And not to his surprise, almost every single other freshman looked as entranced as he was by the man's commanding voice and chillingly powerful atmosphere. Eventually, and much to Thomas' dismay, he ended his speech and left the stage, only to have someone else fill it a second later. The vice principle- as Washington had introduced him as- was a short chubby man named John Adams, who also spoke of the school's policies and expectations. This man, however, did not have nearly the same effect as Washington did, standing half as tall and speaking half as loudly. People started to chatter and Thomas lost his interest soon enough.

Vice principle John Adams seemed to notice this, and cleared his throats loudly in an attempt to silence the low chatter, which really didn't help much. Thomas smirked. The little guy really seemed to have no power over the students, despite his ranking of Vice President.

"Alright, thank you everyone and have a wonderful first day here at our school," Mr Adams ended weakly, obviously desperate to get off the stage and away from the judgemental gazes of the freshmen. Thomas watched as he shuffled across the stage awkwardly and join the other high ranking staff members.

Next, the principal spoke, although Thomas didn't really catch his name, he had long ago lost interest after Washington had cleared the stage. So, instead of listening, his eyes wandered around the hall. He didn't see anyone familiar, but of course he didn't. He was from Virginia and he was pretty sure no one else from his high school, or his hometown for the matter, came to NYU. Nope, he only knew James.

And then he remembered last night. He did know someone else! A certain Parisian who's hazel eyes shone like stars. Thomas grinned involuntarily at the thought of Lafayette. He had missed his old friend and couldn't wait to catch up with them. He looked around hopefully through the crowd again but he couldn't spy the familiar curly ponytail of Lafayette. They had to be here somewhere though, and Thomas was sure he'd find them eventually.

Orientation suddenly came to a close as the principle walked away and bored, forced applause followed him off the stage, waking Thomas from his thoughts. After orientation ended, the hall filed out slowly and so did Thomas and James.

"I have him as one of my professors!" Thomas said excitedly as he and James walked around campus afterwards.

"Who?" James asked absentmindedly as he examined a campus map. 

"Washington! I have him right now actually! In my Intro to political science!" Thomas explained, not even bothering to try and keep the excitement out of his voice. He wasn't quite sure why he was so happy to have Washington as his professor, but he was nonetheless. James looked up and glanced around the yard, then decided they were heading the right way and kept on walking. 

"That's nice," James said. Thomas rolled his eyes but didn't say anything, he knew James was concentrating and he also knew that sometimes it was easier for the little man to drain out his voice, a habit he had become well accustomed to over the years of Thomas' ramblings.

After a little while, James said he had to turn down a different way and bid Thomas farewell, promising to meet up again after their classes. Thomas waved goodbye and then continued to stroll across the campus and to his first class. He couldn't help but feel so overwhelmingly excited. He was finally here, he was finally doing this. He was finally independent and free of his parents and James and Virginia. He could be anything he wanted to be. Thomas smiled widely as he realized he could finally be himself. And just like that, Thomas found his groove and continued to walk confidently, head held high and shoulders pushed back, feeling absolutely giddy with happiness and joy. 

He made it to his first class and walked in the door. It was a huge lecture hall, seats going up and to the back of the room. Thomas took it all in, mouth slightly ajar in awe. He looked around at the people but saw no one he recognized. Well of course he didn't. He knew only two people here, James and Lafayette, and he knew James wasn't in this class and he didn't exactly peg Lafayette to be the type who was into politics. 

But then he also remembered he had also met two of Lafayette's friends... John Lawrence and Hercules... Muddington? He couldn't exactly remember. He looked around the room again but saw neither of these two men in the crowd, not sure whether he was relived or disappointed about that. On one hand, he could use some new friends and it would be nice to know someone else in this class, but on the other hand, he remembered not being to fond of the two drunken idiots last night at the bar. He shrugged it off and decided that whatever was going to happen, will happen. So, he resolved to pick a seat near the front of the class so he could see and hear everything perfectly. He settled into his seat and took out his notebook as well as a pencil. He was ready.

He sat back and waited for the class to start, glancing at the door as soon as he noticed someone walk in. He was unconsciously praying someone he knew would walk in, but no such luck. He sighed and continued to wait. He played with his pencil absentmindedly, tapping it on his notebook and making an annoyingly incessant and soft thumping noise. The person to his left shot his a sideways glare and he stopped, not letting the hard glare get to him too much.

He sighed. This was absolutely insufferable, he practically felt the need to pull his hair out, but then he pushed the idea away as quickly as possible because there was no way he was going to ruin his hair, not after he had spent half an hour on it this morning. He clenched his fists and stared at the ceiling. He just wanted class to start already! Why was this taking so long?

Then, just when he thought he couldn't wait any longer, he caught someone else enter the room out of the corner of his eye. He turned to the door to see who it was, and when he did, the small smile on his face fell instantly. Thomas recognized the short Latino boy who had just walked in as the same one who had spilt beer on him the previous night. He felt his blood boil as the small man with his brown hair pulled into a messy ponytail made eye contact with him. He scoffed when the man frowned and rolled his eyes, obviously he remembered him from last night. 

Thomas gritted his teeth. Of course- of course it just had to be this guy, this stupid guy who spilt beer on him and ruined his shirt. It couldn't have been Lafayette or even Jake Lauren or Herald Mulligan. No- the universe wasn't that kind, it just had to spite him and throw in this insanely infuriating man with his stupid caramel skin and dark eyes and long messy hair which seemed to shine in the morning light. Of fucking course.

Thomas didn't know why but something about this guy put him on edge. It was probably the fact that he ruined one of Thomas' shirts but Thomas wasn't sure if he could even pin it completely on that. This man just had an air to him, an air Thomas didn't like at all. He glared at the man as he took as seat in the front row as well, the closest one to the door. Thomas didn't have time to wallow in his anger though because just then, Washington entered and demanded silence from the room. Thomas drew his attention to the tall, powerful, black man in front of him and pushed his anger to the side for the time being.

"Good morning class! Welcome to intro to political science. As you all most likely know, I am George Washington but you may refer to me as Professor Washington or simply Professor," his powerful voice spoke out. Thomas found himself holding his breath in the presence of such as esteemed man, and let out a long breath after realizing it.

"Today, we're going to start by getting familiar with the material we're going to cover over the course of the semester and the introduction to our first unit..." Thomas hung on his every word with as much curiosity and anticipation as a five year old would have.

An hour and a half seemed to flash by in no time at all and Thomas was surprised at how easy the first class was. He knew almost everything already, and made a point of that by answering most of the questions. Unfortunately, so did the short, infuriating Latino guy, as Thomas had come to learn was named Alexander Hamilton. Stupid prick.

Hamilton would also answer most of the questions, his hand up every time one was asked. This made Thomas' blood churn and he gritted his jaw as he raised his hand higher to attempt to be picked over Hamilton to answer. When Washington called on him, he smirked in victory and launched himself into his very thorough answer. He felt a rush of pride and triumph and Washington nodded in approval and thanked him for his insightful response.

"Umm, sorry- Mr. Washington, but that's incorrect," Hamilton piped up from down the row of seats. Thomas felt his face flush with rage and embarrassment as he whipped his head to glare at Hamilton. But Hamilton wasn't looking at him, he had his gaze fixed on Washington. 

"Hmm. Care to explain why you think so, Mr. Hamilton?" Washington asked, seemingly interested in what the Caribbean had to say, even though Thomas was sure it was absolute bullshit. 

"Of course sir," Hamilton started, fire in his eyes and a knowing smile on his face, more than ready to launch into a rant about how wrong Thomas was. 

And Hamilton did exactly that, after completely exaggerating Thomas' answer and turning his own words against him of course. Hamilton had entirely spun his answer out of proportion! He hadn't even said the things Hamilton said he had "implied" in his answer! And as if to aggravate Thomas even more, he said his answer in a voice that was dry and almost bored. Thomas was left staring blank faced and shocked at Hamilton, rage building inside him. He turned to look at Washington, praying he would see how ridiculous Hamilton's accusations were and realize that he was the one with the correct answer. 

Washington was leaning against his desk, head tilted upwards. He appeared to be in thought, a slight smile curling the edges of his lips. After a few moments, but what seemed like eternity to Thomas, Washington nodded. 

"I suppose you have a point, Mr. Hamilton-" Thomas' eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in utter shock. "But sir! He's completely blown my answer out of proportion! I never said that-" Thomas interrupted Washington to protest, before Washington interrupted him. "Calm down, Mr. Jefferson. You didn't let me finish," Washington said calmly but firmly. "You are indeed correct as well. However, Mr. Hamilton did bring forth an interesting, and, admittedly controversial point of view." 

Thomas couldn't believe his fucking ears. He went to say more but Washington held up a hand, signalling for him to keep quiet. "Let's move on then, shall we?" he asked and he continued his lecture. 

Thomas was left with his mouth still slightly ajar and a shocked expression still wavering on his face. He clenched his fist around his pencil in anger and he finally managed to close his mouth and stare holes into his notebook. He made a mental note to... have a word with this Hamilton after class. He felt the anger bubble inside him even as he mentioned the name in his head. He knew, he fucking knew he wasn't going to like this guy. He also made a mental note to always trust his gut when it came to people he hated. Because he decided then, that he hated Alexander Hamilton. With a passion.

Finally, class ended. Thomas quickly packed his stuff and rushed over to Hamilton, except, Hamilton was already gone. Thomas huffed angrily as he marched out of the class, ignoring the odd stares he was getting from his classmates.  
Once he was outside, he made a point of looking for that infuriating ponytail. He spotted it, and marched over to him. Hamilton was walking quickly, head ducked down. He appeared to be typing furiously into his phone. Thomas scoffed and tapped him on the shoulder. He was slightly surprised to see Hamilton jump at his touch, he nearly jumped out of his skin. Thomas quickly retracted his hand as Hamilton turned around. But when they came face to face, both of their anger returned, full force.

"What do you want?" Hamilton basically spat. Thomas gridded his jaw and clenched his fists. "I want," he started slowly, trying to keep the anger out of his voice as much as possible. "To tell you that you were wrong in there," he said, gesturing to the lecture hall with his head. He watched as Hamilton raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, chin pointing out and up almost daring Thomas to challenge him.

"Really? So you don't believe that the republican views are racist, sexist, and homophobic?" Hamilton asked sarcastically. "Of course not!" Thomas sputtered in reply. "I think they're traditional. I think they're the basic principles people should follow." Hamilton just rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Yeah, ok. Call me in ten years when the party has gone completely extinct due from our rapidly changing society which has no room for the republican's 'traditional ways'," Hamilton retorted before spinning on his heels and walking away. "Wake up, Jefferson!" he called over his shoulder.

Thomas stood there, angry and, admittedly shocked. He was surprised at what Hamilton had said, and even more surprised as he realized he was right. Times were changing. And although Thomas wasn't even a republican, he felt slightly guilty for defending the party. After all, they did go against much of what Thomas stood for. For one, he was black. For two, he was gay. And for three, he really didn't have a tolerance for discrimination of any kind. But still, he did like certain aspects of the Republican Party, and he certainly wasn't about to become democratic. He shook his head as he realized that Hamilton had gotten completely under his skin now. Thomas exhaled in frustration and stalked off, going to find James. James would comfort him. James would tell him that he's right. James would agree with him that Hamilton was a little shit. James would listen to him rant about Hamilton. He had to find James. 

\-----

"I'M TELLING YOU, JOHN! HE IS THE WORST PERSON YOU WILL EVER MEET! I SWEAR TO GOD HE IS THE MOST SELF-CENTRED, EGOISTIC, COCKY, SON OF A BITCH IN THE WORLD- AND I'M TREADING LIGHTLY HERE!" 

Alexander yelled at a poor, unsuspecting John. He fumed and glared at John, who just blinked back at him in total shock. 

"And... who are we talking about here?" John asked cautiously. He wasn't completely sure he wanted to know who had Alexander all riled up, although it seemed like a fairly easy thing to do so actually, this could be anyone. Alexander visibly turned a darker shade of red and clenched his fists, practically shaking with anger. 

"Some ignorant, idiotic, shit in my political science class. Jefferson is his name. I think Thomas is his first but I can't remember, I was too distracted by the actual shit coming out of his mouth!" Alex seethed as he finally took a seat at the table John was sitting at, before Alex had come storming into the lounge area and started screaming. And now, everyone in the area had their eyes on the pair, well more specifically on the still steaming Alexander. John wanted to laugh out loud at some of the expressions on the people around them. Fucking priceless, he laughed in his head. 

But then John's eyes widened as he realized what name Alexander had said. It sounded so familiar and- oh! The guy at the bar from last night! The one with Lafayette!

"Wait... did you say Thomas Jefferson?" John asked, just to be sure. "Ugh. Yes. Even his name is pretentious," Alexander replied, rolling his eyes. John couldn't believe it, but he had to make sure, just in case. "What did he look like?" John asked, curious to know the answer. Alexander looked at him funny, as if he couldn't understand why John was asking such a question, but then he shrugged, deciding he could just answer instead of wasting time by arguing with yet another person. 

"Uh, he's tall. Black. He has this... poof of curly black hair. And he was wearing this awful shade of purple..." Alexander started, but it was more than enough to let John know that his suspicions were right. He opened his mouth to tell Alex but the man kept on talking. 

"And you can just tell by the way he carries himself that he thinks he's like, the best thing to happen since fucking sliced bread. And he also reeks of money. I mean seriously, you can practically see it oozing off of him in spirit. It's probably how he got into this school anyways, unlike some of us who actually had to work hard to get in," he scoffed at the end of it. 

The last words Alex had said sent a pang to John's heart as well as a flush of anger. "Hey," he said, interrupting whatever Alex was about to say next. Alexander looked at him, bewildered. "Just because people come from money doesn't mean they don't work hard," he muttered, glancing away, he didn't want to look into Alex's eyes at that particular moment, no matter how pretty they were. 

"Oh... I- I'm sorry, John... I didn't mean-" Alex started apologetically, before cutting himself off. He shut his mouth, for once, and went to grab John's hand. The contact sent shots of electricity up John's arm, causing him to jolt a little. He played this off as casual though, by turning back to look at Alex. The man in front of him looked apologetic and worried and... guilty? The puppy dog eyes were enough to get John to cave instantly though.

"It's fine. I know you didn't mean anything by it," John sighed before extracting his hand from Alex's grip. Alex shifted and settled back in his seat, arms folded casually over his stomach. John couldn't help but want them back on his arm, touching him. He quickly shook the thought away though. 

"So about this Jefferson guy-" Alex rolled his eyes as John mentioned the name "- I think I actually met him already. At the bar last night." Alex perked up at this, eyebrows shooting up abnormally high. 

"Really? How? When? Where? Wh-" John put up his hand to stop Alex's parade of questions. "Laf introduced us. They said they were friends from-" "WHAT!" Alex cut him off almost immediately. John blinked and jerked back in surprise at his outburst.

"What?" he asked, although he barely had time to because Alex had already started rambling. 

"Laf is friends with him?!? With that arrogant shit?!?!" he exclaimed in all exasperation. John blinked. 

"Yeeeaaaahhhh???" he said uncertainly. Alex didn't answer, he only whipped out his phone and started to type furiously. John discretely read the messages he was sending from across the table. 

To: Laf

Is it true you're friends with a Thomas Jefferson?

From: Laf

Yes. May I ask why you ask this?

To: Laf

OHMYGOD NO!

GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE NOW!

From: Laf

What? Why?

To: Laf

WE NEED TO TALK. NOW.

From: Laf

D'accord! Calm down Alexander, I am coming. 

"Jesus Christ, Alex," John muttered under his breath as Alex continued to type quickly. It was all he had to say.

\-----

"I can't stand him James! I. Can't. Stand. Him!" Thomas spat, still filled with anger towards the tiny little gremlin that embarrassed him in front of the whole class AND professor Washington. 

James sighed and rubbed Thomas' arm sympathetically, although it was more out of habit than it of sympathy. He already had a minor headache from listening to Thomas rant about what Hamilton had done in class that morning, but that wasn't going to stop him from comforting his best friend, especially when he was this upset. Obviously this Alexander Hamilton had a way of getting under poor Thomas' skin. James took a breath before saying, "I know. He sounds absolutely horrible. But you're going to have to live with it because he'll be in that class all semester."

Thomas let out an exaggerated whimper at this and banged the back of his head against the wall of his dorm room, more than a little over-dramatically.

"I don't think I'll live to see the end of this semester. Not with him in that class," he whined. James rubbed his arm some more and sat next to him on his bed. 

"You will," James assured him.

"Ok, maybe I will, but he sure won't," Thomas practically growled. 

James breathed a laugh. "Maybe lets stray away from murder, yeah?" James said lightheartedly. Thomas chuckled lightly and then groaned and banged the back of his head again. James swatted him on the arm. 

"Ow!" 

"Stop that!" James ordered. 

Thomas smirked. "What? This?" he asked as he banged yet again. James rolled his eyes. 

"God, I'm best friends with a five year old," he muttered flatly.

Thomas hummed with laughter. "You still love me though," he chimed through a grin. 

James turned to face Thomas, he was grinning from ear to ear. Well, at least a childish grin was better than smoke pouring out from his ears. 

"Yeah, remind me why again?" James teased. Thomas laughed again. "Because," he started as he stood up from the bed, leaving James sitting there by himself. "Because I am the best and I can put this stupid little gremlin to shame and also, not murder him." Thomas concluded, sounding proud of himself.

"Great, glad you can restrain yourself from murder," James chimed sarcastically. Thomas grinned. 

"But you also can't physically assault him. And also try to refrain from verbally assaulting him. And arguing with him for no reason, that will only worsen the matter," James added. Thomas frowned. 

"Spoken like the true, heartless lawyer you are, Jemmy James," Thomas sighed. "Come on," James said, picking himself up off the bed, "We have English together in a few minutes."

\-----

Lafayette practically flew out of their dorm and down the stairs and through the doors into the lounge area after receiving the nerve wracking texts from Alexander. They didn't know what was wrong but they couldn't fight the growing ball of anxiety in their stomach. 

Was Alexander in trouble? 

Why was he asking about Thomas? 

Did something happen to Thomas? 

They had a million questions. Their mind worked rapidly, trying to figure out the worst possible scenario, which so far was: Thomas had gotten into a terrible accident and was in need of help and Alexander had texted them because he knew they were friends with Thomas. Their mind had ruled out Alexander being injured because Alexander was the one who had texted them. And their mind had provided the Thomas theory because Alexander had asked if they were friends with Thomas, and then had urgently told them to come down there. Which Lafayette was trying to do as quickly as they could, so if everyone could just GET OUT OF THEIR WAY THAT WOULD BE GREAT THANKS!

They reached the final doors and pushed them open forcefully. They did a quick scan of the room and spotted Alexander and John sitting at a table near a window. Weird, there wasn't a Thomas in sight, and Alexander and John both appeared to be ok... what was going on? They tried to dissipate the swarm of horrible new theories as they walked quickly over to their friends. John saw them first, and got up as soon as he saw them. This set off a bad feeling in Lafayette's gut and their muscles tensed, preparing for the worst. They could practically already hear it: Thomas was badly injured... I'm so sorry, but he has passed on...

But John didn't say anything of the sort. What John said left Lafayette staring at him with a puzzled expression. 

"He's gone crazy. Don't mind a word he says," John whispered warningly to them before Alexander stood and rushed over to them.

"Alexander! What is it? What happened? Is everything ok?" Lafayette asked quickly, finally getting the questions that had plagued them for the last five minutes off their chest. They tensed once more, again, preparing for the worst, a thing they did often. But Alexander only blinked in confusion, and then shook his head. Lafayette's bundle of nerves only grew at this. Oh god, he's shaking his head in pity... because he knows I will be upset once I learn that Thomas is dead...

"What? No. Everything's fine! What's not fine is the fact that your friends with Thomas Jefferson!" Alex sputtered, obviously angered by something. 

Lafayette blinked. Slowly, very slowly, the ball of nerves unwound itself and they were able to breath again. Everything was fine. Alexander had said it himself. Everything was fine. They took a deep breath. 

"Why is this a problem?" they asked calmly as they took a seat with John and Alex. 

"Because-" Alex all but spat, "-he is the worst! He is completely insufferable and ignorant and infuriating and how could you possibly be friends with him? How do you even know him?" 

Lafayette raised an eyebrow and then sighed deeply. Of course Alexander had only called them down here in such a rush to question why they were friends with someone, because who else would do that? Lafayette breathed, reassuring themselves that this was actually good because it meant that everything was still ok. No one was hurt. No one was dead. Everything's fine. 

"First of all, very impressive alliteration," Lafayette pointed out. Alexander just snorted in response. "Second of all, I met him in France a couple years ago, he was on an exchange for his school," Lafayette explained. Alexander went to interrupt him, no doubtably with a series of questions, but Lafayette raised their hand to stop him, gesturing that they had more to say.

"Third of all, I understand that he can be... a bit much," Alexander gawked at those words, "but he his actually quite a decent person, once you get to know him. He is very caring," Lafayette concluded. 

They looked up to see Alexander's confused expression, eyebrows furrowed in disbelief. Then, Alexander shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. 

"No." he stated matter-of-factly. "That's impossible. I don't believe you," he said, chin up as if to challenge Lafayette to defend himself. But Lafayette was in no such mood. They were already exhausted from the near panic attack they had just experienced. 

"D'accord, Alexandre. Pense ce-que tu veux," Lafayette replied in French, not really sure why they had suddenly slipped into their first language. Perhaps it was the exhaustion. They went to say it again in English so Alexander could understand, but Alexander was already replying... in French! 

"Je ferrai cela bien sûr," he replied, smirking widely. Lafayette blinked in surprised, and then a huge grin spread across their face. 

"Tu parles le français! Je ne savais pas que t'étais billingue!" Lafayette replied excitedly. Alexander shrugged, smirk widening. 

"Non seulement billingue, je suis trillingue. Je parle l'espagnole aussi," he replied smoothly. Lafayette's eyes blew wide.

"Uhhhh, what?" John asked, glancing confusedly between the two of them. 

"Oh, no te preocupes Laurens, hablo tu segundo idioma también," Alex said, slipping perfectly into Spanish. John felt his cheeks heat up at the way the language rolled off of Alex's tongue. God forbid if that wasn't the hottest thing John had seen the Caribbean do yet, and John found a lot of what Alex did hot. John went to answer, but could only stutter and gape at the smirking Alex. 

"Ok, perhaps we speak in a language we can all understand, yes?" Lafayette asked, laughter in their eyes. Alex laughed and soon John joined in. And then they were all laughing hysterically. After a moment of containing themselves, Lafayette checked their phone and realized they had to go. 

"I must leave. I have English in ten minutes. I will see you later, yes?" they said as they stood up to leave. John and Alex nodded and bade them farewell. Lafayette then turned and rushed back to their dorm to grab their things and then rushed back across campus, making it just in time for their second class of their first day of school in America.

\-----

Thomas and James took seats near the middle of the rows, James didn't want to be too close to the front for fear of being called on to answer. He and James waited patiently for class to start in silence. Thomas looked around this new class- English with a Mrs. Abagail Adams- for a face he recognized, praying it wasn't Hamilton this time. Nobody in particular caught his eye, that was until a tall person with light brown skin and a poof of black hair, much like his own, tied back in a ponytail, walked in. His face instantly lit up as he watched Laf skim the rows of seats carefully. Thomas made his best attempt at a friendly smile to catch the person's attention but Laf didn't seem to notice. 

Thomas watched as Lafayette made their way up the stairs and through the rows of people, apologizing to each one as they passed. Eventually, Laf stopped and slumped down into an empty seat, looking more than a little exhausted. Thomas wondered if Laf knew he was in this class. Suddenly, Thomas felt a tap to his shoulder and he jumped a little at the unexpected contact. He turned to see James wearing a slightly apologetic look for startling his friend. 

"Who is that?" James asked in a hushed voice because the professor had started speaking. Thomas leaned in close to whisper his reply. 

"That's Marquis de Lafayette, one of the friends I made while I was in France," Thomas replied, jerking his head towards Lafayette who was a row below them. James' face lit up with recognition. 

"Oh yeah, I remember you telling me about him," was James' reply. Thomas saw his friend eye the man in front of them warily. He went to correct James on his use of pronouns, Thomas knew how important it was to Laf, but James spoke first. "You two really do look alike," he said in astonishment as he went back and forth between the French person and the southern boy. Thomas laughed lightly. 

"Yeah, that's actually how we got to know each other," he said, stealing the words Lafayette had said the previous night at the bar. 

Thomas suddenly got an idea. He ripped out a sheet of paper from his notebook and crumpled it up into a ball. Then, after checking to make sure the professor's head was turned, he lightly tossed the paper ball, aiming it perfectly at Lafayette. The ball bounced off of Lafayette's shoulder and landed lightly on the desk in front of them. Thomas grinned when he realized his plan had worked. Lafayette picked up the paper and turned around in bewilderment. Thomas thought the expression on their face was hilarious. He smiled and waved with his fingers to the startled Lafayette. Instantly, their eyes lit up and their shocked expression faded into more of a happy surprised expression. 

Lafayette waved back and Thomas laughed quietly. He mouthed the words, "meet up after class?" and pointed to his watch just to clarify. Lafayette looked slightly confused at first but then seemed to get the idea as they smiled and nodded. Thomas smiled back and then Lafayette turned back around in their seat. Thomas watched in amusement as they unfolded the balled up piece of paper and folded it into something Thomas couldn't quite make out because Lafayette's shoulder was in the way of his sight. Thomas jumped slightly again when he felt James nudge him in the side. He turned to make a face a James.

"Stop startling me like that!" he hissed under his breath. "Sorry, but you really should be paying attention instead of drooling after your doppelgänger," James whispered back, not even looking Thomas in the eyes as he said this. Thomas could see that James was being serious, but he could also see the look of amusement behind his carefully guarded expression. He was obviously satisfied with what he said. Thomas scoffed. 

"I am not drooling," he muttered under his breath before he turned his attention back to the front of the class where the professor was writing on the board and explaining something at the same time. Thomas suddenly realized that he hadn't been paying attention at all and that he really should be so, without admitting it to James, he took his advice and payed attention.

After class was over, Lafayette, Thomas and James met up outside the classroom. "Thomas! I was not expecting to see you in this class!" Lafayette remarked, smiling ever so sweetly. Thomas smiled back and the stiffened a bit when Lafayette went to hug him, but only just a bit. Lafayette pulled away and carried on the conversation. 

"So you like this school, yes?" they asked as they started walking. "Oh yeah, so far it's-" 

"AHEM!" James interrupted Thomas by fake clearing his throat. 

Lafayette snapped their attention to the other man and offered him a warm smile. "Hello! I am Marquis de Lafayette! But you may call me Lafayette or Laf if you like. And you are?" Lafayette easily introduced themselves, their kind nature just pouring out of him as usual. 

However, Thomas remembered that one shouldn't let this person's easy charm fool you. If Thomas remembered correctly, they could be a total badass whenever they wanted. Thomas remembered how Lafayette had gotten into trouble back in France, but they always seemed to sneak their way out of it. They were sweet and charming, sure, but they were also clever and cunning and amazingly smart. And, if Thomas remembered correctly, they were a lot stronger and tougher than they looked. He smiled at the memories with Lafayette from back in France and realized that he could probably write an entire book about all the adventures they had gotten into. 

"James Madison, Thomas' best friend since middle school," James said as he shook Lafayette's hand firmly. Thomas was drawn back to the conversation at the mention of his name. 

"Ah, yes! I remember you! Thomas said many kind things about you," Laf said kindly. 

"Did he? Well, maybe he could say them to me sometime?" James joked, turning to make a face at Thomas. Thomas returned the face. "Ha ha," he laughed sarcastically. James just rolled his eyes. He was about to add another quip to give to James but Lafayette interrupted him. 

"So, I hear you and Alexander have aquatinted yourselves," they said, and although it sounded like they brought it up naturally, Thomas got suspicious. 

"You know Alexander Hamilton?" he asked, just barely containing the anger from reaching his voice. Even just the mention of that name set him off. 

"Yes, he is one of my new friends," Lafayette said simply, as if being friends with someone like Alexander Hamilton was easy. Ha! Thomas wouldn't believe that for a second. 

"How you can be friends with him?!? He's the worst!" Thomas protested, his voice reaching a weird high pitched tone. Thomas instantly felt a hand gripping his elbow. It was James' way of telling him to calm down. 

"Aha, he said the exact same thing about you," Lafayette laughed lightly as they said this. Thomas' eyes nearly bugged out of his head. 

"You-" he felt the grip on his elbow tighten. He took a breath and tried again, this time in a slightly calmer voice. "You talked to him about me?" he asked, voice monotone. 

"Yes I did. But only briefly. I hope this does not cause problems in our friendship, Thomas?" Lafayette asked, a little worried. Thomas took another breath. 

"No, of course it won't," he said sincerely. James relaxed his grip after this, realizing Thomas had calmed down. "I just don't understand how you can stand that guy. But of course he won't come between our friendship, Gil," Thomas said, using his nickname for Laf. It was what everyone in France called them so Thomas had gotten used to calling them that as well. 

Lafayette smiled with relief. "Good. I am glad! D'accord, I must leave now, but it was nice to meet you Monsieur Madison. Adieu, Thomas," Lafayette said with a smile and a wave before turning down a separate corridor. Thomas called out a goodbye and turned back to James, evil grin on his face.

"Hi, I'm James Madison, Thomas' best friend since middle school!" Thomas taunted James. James just shrugged and rolled his eyes. 

"Is that not accurate?" he asked calmly. 

"Of course it is. It just wasn't necessary," Thomas replied. James laughed and said, "Well don't think I meant anything special by it. I actually hate your guts." Thomas threw his head back in a laugh. "As if anyone could hate moi!" he said, dramatically placing his hand to his chest. 

"Well, Hamilton seems to," James muttered. Thomas huffed and crossed his arms. "That little shit doesn't count. I'm pretty sure he's not even human. He's probably a gremlin of some sort- I mean, just look at his height..." Thomas rambled on for an eternity, or at least it felt like that to James

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> D'accord, Alexandre. Pense ce-que tu veux - fine, Alexander. Think whatever you want.
> 
> Je ferrai cela bien sûr- Of course I'll do that.
> 
> Tu parles le français! Je ne savais pas que t'étais billingue- You speak French! I didn't know you were bilingual!
> 
> Non seulement billingue, je suis trillingue. Je parle l'espagnole aussi- I'm not bilingual, I'm trilingual. I also speak Spanish.
> 
> Oh, no te preocupes Laurens, hablo tu segundo idioma también- Oh, don't worry Laurens, I speak your second language as well.
> 
> (I'm not sure if the Spanish is right I used google translate oops. Sorry, I hope it's ok)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angelicaaaaa
> 
> (Work work)
> 
> Elizaaaaaaa
> 
> (Work work)
> 
> AND PEGGY!
> 
> The Schuyler sisters finally make an apparence and it's GREAT. Alexander develops a crush and John had to watch it happen and be supportive... the poor soul. Eliza is sweet, Angelica is awesome, and Peggy's crazy, what's new. The other characters aren't in this chapter but we'll get back to them soon;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I'm a couple days late! Oh boy, I didn't mean for this to happen lol. I was SUPER busy last week and during the weekend and I didn't have time to write! So I wrote this yesterday and finished it today but I really rushed it so I hope it's still ok. Anyways, I promise this won't happen again! And I might even be updating more frequently now... like twice a week? I have the time now anyways so I was thinking maybe if I get chapters done early I'll just post them! But there will still be a new one out every Monday regardless. Ok, that's it for notes, go read the chapter!

Alex stood in line with John at the Starbucks across from campus. The line was long and slow moving, as was every other Starbucks line in New York. Alex groaned. All he wanted was some coffee, plain black coffee. No fucking frappocino with Carmel drizzle or whatever other shit drink they sold here. Coffee was meant to be just that, coffee. Plain and simple. And Alex really needed some right now. The college workload was extremely demanding, especially since he was taking so many advanced classes in order to catch up and pass some of the students ahead of him, students like Aaron Burr. And although Alex didn't exactly have anything against Burr, he still wanted to beat him. Well he wanted to beat everyone actually. He knew that he has to be the best, because if he's not the best what is he? He'll be just another immigrant who failed to make his country, his island, and his late Mother proud. Alex just couldn't- no- wouldn't accept anything other than the best, and if that meant studying every night until 4am and getting approximately 3 hours of sleep each night, then so be it. 

Finally, finally, they had made it to the front of the line. Alex waited as patiently as he could while John ordered his drink, which was much to frivolous for Alex's taste. As soon as John was done, Alexander spat out his order, which was simple, a large black coffee. The barista asked if that was all and Alex wanted to yell, "OF COURSE THAT'S ALL! DID WE ASK FOR ANYTHING ELSE? NO!" but he held his tongue. John spoke instead, saying that that was indeed all, and went to pay. Alex went to stop him but John just looked at him pointedly. The unspoken conversation that went between was something like: "I can pay!" "No you can't Alex, you have no money!" "I have money..." "Just let me pay." "Fine." And John ended up paying, although Alex made a mental note to pay him back as soon as possible.

After requiring their drinks they sat down at an empty table. John stirred the straw in his drink while Alex popped the lid off his so it would cool faster. He breathed in the warm, delightful smelling steam and let out loud sigh. John snorted. 

"Should I leave you two alone?" he teased, smile curling on his lips. Alex glared at him. "I would come up with an excellent reply to that immature remark but frankly, I'm way too exhausted," was Alexander's reply. John shrugged. 

"How much sleep do you get anyway?" he asked, although he already knew the answer; not enough. Alex shrugged this time. "Maybe averaging about three hours a night-" John's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets 

"-but I'm perfectly fine," Alexander added after seeing John's expression. "No that is not fine, Alexander," John said sternly, "you need more sleep!" Alex made a pfffft sound.

"You sound like Laf. And besides, I don't have time for sleep. I have way too much work to do," Alexander replied. He looked at the steam still rising from his cup. He shrugged and decided to sip at it anyways. 

"I don't care! You need sleep to survive! Tell me Alex, do you want to die before you turn 20?" John asked. Alexander hummed in thought at his words. Something about them made him want to laugh, most likely from the irony. You see, he'd never thought he'd live past twenty. In fact, where he came from most got half as many years. He should actually count himself lucky. But he didn't tell John this, John wouldn't understand. John Laurens came from a wealthy family, he had a good, safe life growing up. Alexander didn't want to place his life burdens on him, even at the slight chance of receiving some sympathy and comfort, which were both long overdue. But he was tough, he was fine. He didn't need those things. What he needed was to make his mother and his island proud. 

"I'll survive," Alexander replied simply before downing more of the steaming hot coffee. John quirked an eyebrow at the lack of a lengthy reply. He watched silently as Alex practically chugged the coffee, and then he sighed. There was no use arguing, he knew he wouldn't get through to the little Caribbean. He retreated back to swirling his straw around the brown, iced, sugary sludge that was his drink. Alexander wanted to vomit at the sight of it. 

"How can you stand to drink that shit?" he piped up suddenly. John breathed a laugh, slightly amused but mostly grateful that the Alexander he knew had returned. 

"Because it's amazing. How do you stand to drink your plain, scalding coffee?" he retorted. Alex gasped and recoiled at this remark, placing a hand to his chest. "How dare you mock my coffee. It's the only thing in this world keeping me alive," he said, faux exaggeration in his voice. 

John frowned and said, "that's probably not a good thing." Alex shrugged and laughed. "At least it's not going to give me diabetes," he said, looking pointedly at John's drink. "No but it will stunt your growth... well actually I don't think that'll be a problem anyways," John said, barely containing his laughter by the end of it. Alex scoffed and smacked John's hand, causing the man to completely lose it and start laughing hysterically. 

"First you mock my coffee and now you drag my height into this! How dare you! What's next? My nationality? My work ethic? The length of my hair?" Alex responded heatedly yet playfully. 

"As a matter of fact-!" John started before abruptly stopping himself as Alex swatted him again. "You can't even bring my hair length into this because yours is longer!" Alex pointed out, smile finally slipping onto his face. 

"Ah yes, but at least mine isn't a greasy mess," John said before ruffling Alexander's hair. 

"Hey!" Alex yelped as he moved away from Laurens' hand. He combed his fingers through his hair and readjusted his ponytail. 

"Oh, sorry princess, didn't mean to mess up your hair," John fake apologized. Alexander made a face at him and John laughed. God he loved this; playing with Alexander, talking with Alexander, being with Alexander... Alexander. 

He smiled as he watched the shorter man aggressively pull out his elastic and comb through his hair. 

"What are you so happy about?" Alex grumbled as he retied his ponytail. John blushed and shrugged non-chalently. "Nothin," he replied before going to sip his drink. Alex rolled his eyes as he finished tying the ponytail. Then, he went back to his coffee and finished it quickly after realizing that it was more than cool enough. 

He set his cup down and looked around him. The Starbucks had cleared out a little bit and there were more free tables. He was in the middle of complaining in his head about how the place cleared up after he got his coffee, how convenient, but then he stopped as he heard the jingling of bells as the door to the store opened. His eyes widened at the sight in front of him. A girl, with long raven hair and pale skin, walked in, cheeks rosy from the cold wind outside. Alexander took a moment to take all of her in. She was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Brown doe eyes, pronounced cheek bones, a soft kind smile. Wow. 

"John..." Alex whispered as his eyes followed the beautiful young women to the ordering counter. 

"Yeah?" John asked. 

"Who's that?" Alex asked, voice still quiet as he kept staring at the girl. John lifted an eyebrow and turned around in his seat to have a look. His heart sank when he realized who Alex was looking at. 

"Oh... that's Eliza Schuyler. Her dad owns some huge company I think. They're a very popular and wealthy family is all I know," John replied softly. He turned to look at Alex but then he wished he hadn't. Alexander's eyes were huge and somehow seemed to form the shape of hearts, and his mouth was hanging slightly open in awe.

"Wow..." was all that escaped his lips. John felt a small pang in his chest. He clenched his jaw and stared at his drink. This wasn't good. He hadn't been sure if Alex was gay or not but this certainly closed the discussion. He rolled his eyes in an effort to suppress the tears. He didn't even know why it hurt so bad... but it did. 

"Sh- should I go talk to her?" Alex stuttered. John felt another pang but quickly shoved it down. 

"Sure. If you want," he said calmly. 

Damn it Laurens! What's wrong with you?! John scolded himself in his head. 

Alex nodded and stood up and walked over to Eliza. He didn't know what he was going to say, all he knew was that he needed to talk to her. As he approached he heard snippets of the conversation she was having with the girl behind the counter.

"Peggy! You can't just say that! I can't believe-" 

"Umm, excuse me?" Alex interrupted, internally cringing at how small his voice sounded. He took a breath and calmed his mind. Eliza turned to face him, a slightly surprised look on her face. Her long hair swished around and fell behind her as she turned her head. Alex swore she was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Alex's eyes flicked to the girl behind the counter, who was looking at him suspiciously. 

"Yes?" Eliza asked, voice as soft as fur. Alex swallowed and then smiled charmingly. 

"Sorry to interrupt but I couldn't help but notice you from across the room," he said, voice sounding much more confident all of a sudden. Eliza visibly blushed and smiled sheepishly, glancing down at the floor. Alexander thought that was the cutest thing ever. He noticed the girl behind the counter wasn't too impressed though and he shifted under her suspicious glares. 

"Well I- umm... thank you," Eliza said, blush deepening. 

"I'm Alexander Hamilton," he spoke again as he reached out with his hand. Eliza took it and blushed even deeper as Alex raised it to his lips and kissed it. 

"E- Elizabeth Schuyler," she squeaked cutely. Alex lowered her hand and smiled as charismatically as he knew how. 

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Elizabeth," he said, eyes flicking to the side. The barista now had her arms crossed over her chest, a raised eyebrow and her lips pursed in an unimpressed frown. She rolled her eyes and muttered what sounded to be the word "men" said in a sarcastic tone. Alexander felt his insides twist uneasily suddenly. 

"And you, Alexander," Eliza replied, a sweet smile blessing her face. 

Alex stuttered, "C- could I... umm, could I get your..." 

"My number?" Eliza finished for him. 

"Yes! That, yes!" Alex blurted out, nervous smile spreading across his face. 

Eliza smile widely, exposing her perfect and brilliantly white teeth. "Of course, here," she said as she turned back to the counter and reached for an empty cup and a sharpie. The barista whispered something to her but Eliza giggled and shook her head, muttering something back.

"There you go," she said as he handed Alex the cup with her number on it. Alex smiled at her cute handwriting. God, everything about this girl seemed to be so fucking adorable. 

"Thanks. I'll give you a call sometime?" he said with a smile. "Ok," Eliza said. They smiled at each other for another moment and Alex swore he saw the barista roll her eyes out of the corner of his eye. 

"Well! If you two are done I need to talk with my sister, thanks!" the girl chirped suddenly. Alex blinked in surprise as she walked out from behind the counter and pulled her sister away by the wrist. Eliza yelped in surprise and then turned to flash a smile at Alexander before being pulled into the back room. Alex stood in shock. And then a warm happy sensation flooded him. He smiled as he looked down at the cup in his hands. He was so entranced by it that he didn't even see John get up from his table, where he was painfully observing the whole thing, and walk towards him.

"Ready to go lover boy?" John teased as he clamped a hand on Alex's shoulder. Alex jumped in surprise and John breathed a laugh. 

"Come on," he muttered as he dragged Alexander out of the Starbucks.   
They walked back to campus and John tried his best to look happy for Alexander as he spoke non stop. 

"She's just so beautiful! And adorable! Did you see the way she blushed and looked at the ground? And her eyes- oh god her eyes! They're like something out of an anime cartoon I swear!" Alex rambled, huge smile covering his face. 

"That's great Alex," John said, ignoring the dull throb in his heart. 

\-----

"'LIZA HAS A BOYFRIEND!!!" 

Little 5 year old Catherine Schuyler sang at the top of her lungs. She squealed in delight as Peggy scooped her up in her arms and tickled her neck. 

"You silly little goose!" Peggy said as she blew on her sister's tummy, causing a shriek of laughter.

"He's not my boyfriend Cathy! We're just talking!" Eliza said with a sweet smile as she covered the receiving end of her phone. 

"BOYFRIEND BOYFRIEND!!!" Cathy squealed, earning another tummy blow from her sister. Eliza rolled her eyes and decided to go somewhere quieter to talk with Alexander. She bounded up to stairs and into her room where she carefully closed the door behind her, drowning out the remaining squeals of laughter. 

"Sorry about that, my little sister is... well, little," Eliza said with a laugh. 

"It's no problem, she sounds adorable," Alex laughed from the other end of the line. 

"She really is. She's only five, the youngest out of all of us," Eliza replied as she laid down on her bed. 

"All of us? How many siblings do you have?" Alex asked. 

She giggled a little as she said, "four, all sisters. There's Peggy, who you met, and then Angelica, my older sister. And then there's the two babies, Cornelia and Catherine, their twins. That was Catherine screaming just now." Eliza giggled some more as Alex let out a soft "Wow." 

"Yeah I come from large family," she said wistfully. "That sounds amazing. I always wished I had siblings. I mean, I do have an older brother... but he left with my dad when my parents separated... I haven't seen him since..." Alex said. Eliza's heart broke at the way his voice sounded, sad and distant. 

"I'm so sorry... that sounds horrible," she said softly. 

"It's alright. It's in the past. Tell me about your sisters... I'm curious," Alex brushed it off. Eliza smiled, but she made a note to check back in with him about this. 

"Well... Angelica and I are actually both adopted but the other three are my parents biological children. They, my parents I mean, they really wanted a lot of kids but the doctors told my mom that she didn't have a high chance at getting pregnant. So, they adopted Angie when she was four and me when I was just a baby. But then my mom got pregnant with Peggy... and then again with the twins! My mom was too happy to be upset with that doctor," Eliza explained, breathing a laugh at the end. She started to grow a little nervous when Alex didn't answer right away, but then relaxed once he did. 

"That's amazing! And it also explains why you and Peggy don't look alike," he said, soft laughter echoing his words. "Aha yeah, that must have been a little confusing at first," Eliza replied.

Their conversation went on for hours. Eliza was happy and relieved when he didn't ask about her birth parents, that was a story she didn't want to get into at the moment. And she couldn't help but feel that he didn't ask about it because he knew she didn't want to talk about it. Somehow he knew how she felt about it. She couldn't help but feel like this guy, this cute little guy, understood her. She eventually said goodbye and hung up the phone, realizing how late it was. She was in a daze as she sleepily got ready for bed. A smile still ghosted her lips as she crawled into bed a flicked off the light switch.

\-----

"I just don't understand why I have to be here for this!" John complained as he and Alex walked to the Starbucks where Peggy worked.

"Umm moral support, duh?" Alex responded. "Do you really need moral support? You been talking to this girl for like two weeks now," John replied, sounding like he was already exhausted.

"Yes but this is the first time I'm meeting her sisters... well second time meeting Peggy and first time meeting Angelica but Eliza said they're very hard to impress and very protective of her! I need all the support I can get!" Alex reasoned. John rolled his eyes. 

"Fine. Whatever. But I ain't payin for your drink this time," John muttered. They walked in and Alex grabbed his arm roughly. 

"Ow! Alex-" 

"There they are!" Alex squeaked, staring at a group of three girls. One, John recognized as Eliza, another he recognized as the barista who worked there often, the other he didn't recognize. She was tall and fierce looking, perfectly maintained curly black hair surrounding her dark perfectly manicured face. 

John felt chills go up and down his spine as she shifted her gaze to him and Alex. She seemed so bold and confident, like a force of nature. But she smiled sweetly to her sister and said something John couldn't make out from so far away. Eliza turned around and beamed at Alex, who no doubtably beamed back. Alex let go of his arm and walked over to the table of women. John followed reluctantly. 

"Hi!" Alex said as he politely hugged Eliza before turning to her sisters. Peggy smirked at him and Angelica had a smile on her face, though it was tight and clearly forced. She stood up and outstretched her hand. 

"Angelica Schuyler," she said as she shook Alex's hand. Alex wanted to tremble under her firm grip but instead returned it as much as he could. 

"Pleased to meet you! Eliza has told me so much about you!" he said as they both sat down.

"I can say the same about you," she said, affection poking through her stern tone. Eliza must have spoken highly of him, he thought. 

"Yeah, let's see if you live up to her endless rants," Peggy chirped. 

"Peggy!" Eliza squeaked, blush forming. Alex laughed. 

"I hope I do! As you probably already know I'm very fond of Eliza," Alex laughed nervously. 

"Oh, she's veryyy fond of you too- ow!" Peggy exclaimed as Eliza kicked her under the table. She smiled innocently at her sister and the at Alexander who beamed back. Angelica cleared her throat. 

"And who's this?" she asked, gesturing to John who was sitting beside Alex. 

"Oh. I'm John Laurens, here for moral support apparently," he said to Angelica. She nodded and smiled. 

"Nice to meet you. Ok, so let's get down to business-" 

"To defeat the Huns!" Peggy added in song. Eliza giggled and Angelica sighed deeply at being interrupted.

"What?" Alex asked, more than a little confused. "

Oh, it's just from this movie-" 

"MULAN! The Disney movie? Have you seriously never heard of it?" Peggy asked, interrupting Eliza. Alex shook his head. 

"Oh. My. God. Eliza I don't approve. Get rid of him. OFF WITH HIS HEAD!" Peggy called, gesturing wildly. 

The sisters and John laughed but Alex went white as a sheet. 

"Oh, she's only kidding don't worry. But you do need to watch Mulan," Eliza said sweetly. Alex relaxed and breathed a laugh in relief.

"Ok, so back to the matter at hand," Angelica said pointedly, obviously wanting to get to the point. Alex didn't really know her yet, but she seemed like the type of person who was straight forward and honest, the type of person who didn't deal with other people's BS. Alex admired people like that.

Angelica then continued to parade Alex with questions to which he answered as best as he knew how. Peggy also piped in from time to time but usually just to tease someone, to which she also usually received a kick from Eliza. After a while, Angelica seemed to have grown fond of Alexander and deemed him worthy of Eliza. He and Eliza shared a smile from across the table before Peggy piped up again. 

"Ummm excuse me? I still have some questions," she said. Eliza muttered, "oh boy" while Angelica sighed and gestured for her to proceed. Peggy took out a notebook and pen and a pair of movie theatre glasses with the lenses popped out. She placed them on her face and positioned herself as she prepared to write.

"Alright, Alexander Hamilton, my sister has told me you immigrated from the Caribbean at age 18, is this true?" she asked in what could only be interpreted as a news reporters voice. 

"Yes," Alex answered confidently, relieved that so far her questions were easy to answer.

"Alright, cool. And you are trilingual? Fluent in English, French, and Spanish?" 

"Yes." Alex wasn't sure why she was asking these questions, they seemed to be repeats of what Angelica asked earlier. He waited patiently as she scribbled in her notebook. 

"Uh huh. And now tell me, Alexander Hamilton, are you a virgin?" 

"PEGGY!" Eliza yelped, voice shrill. Alex laughed nervously. 

"You don't have to answer that!" Eliza said quickly, turning beet red. He filled with relief at that. "Fine. Next question then," Peggy grumbled. "Are you into any weird sex stuff? Because my sister is far too innocent-" 

"PEGGY!" Eliza yelled again, turning even deeper red. Peggy cackled. "Oh this is fun!" she cried as she wiped a tear from her eye. This time Alex laughed too. 

"I hope you do this to all of Peggy's boyfriends as well Eliza," he said through laughter, grinning at Eliza. Peggy suddenly burst into giggles, much different than he wicked cackling she was doing earlier.

"What?" he asked. Eliza and Angelica were giggling now too. "What is it?"

"I don't have that problem, actually," Peggy started, a curious gleam in her eyes that shone through the wild grin. Alex cocked and eyebrow and uttered a curious, "oh?", which only made her grin wider.

"Nope. I don't have a boyfriend and I never will thank you very much. I like girls much better," she said.

"Oh! So you're a lesbian?" Alex asked, excited that he figured it out.

"Wow! He really is smart, Eliza!" Peggy cried sarcastically, making her sisters and John snicker uncontrollably.

"Sorry sorry," Alex laughed, blushing slightly. "That's really great though! I hope you at least embarrass her in front of her girlfriends then," he adds, staring pointedly at Eliza as he said the last part.

"I would but-" Eliza started to say before Peggy but it, her face turning red.

"Alright! We get it! Now let's get back to my question about the weird sex stuff? Alex? What are your thoughts on role play?"

"Oh my god Peggy!" Eliza nearly screamed.

"Don't worry Peggy, I won't make Eliza do anything she's not comfortable with," Alexander said reassuringly, he figured he should just answer her questions straight forwardly before Eliza literally strangled her sister. Peggy hummed in thought. 

"Ok, just making sure. You know how some men are these days," she said flatly. The table went silent for a moment, a very long, awkward moment. 

"You're right. But I promise you I'm not like that," Alexander said. Peggy looked into his eyes before saying, "Good. Because if you ever hurt my sister I will fight you. Seriously. I may be small but I can throw down," she said, her voice uncharacteristically serious. Alex smiled and shook his head. 

"I would never hurt your sister," he said firmly. Peggy nodded and went to scribble something down. Alexander felt uneasy all of a sudden. He didn't like the way Peggy was acting; quiet and shy. From what he knew that wasn't like her. "Sorry, but are you ok Peggy? You seem... did something happen to you? Because if someone hurt you I would hunt them down and-" 

"No! Alex, I'm fine!" Peggy said. But she didn't seem fine. In fact, both Eliza and Angelica were staring him down. He gulped.

"Sorry- I didn't mean to-" 

"It's fine." Peggy said as she stood up and walked away. She went into the back room of the Starbucks and disappeared. Angelica and Eliza shared a look before Angelica nodded and went after her sister. Alex felt horrible. He opened his mouth but said nothing. Eliza placed a gentle hand on his arm. 

"Don't worry, she'll be ok," she whispered. 

"I- I didn't mean- is she ok? I- I didn't mean for-" 

"Shh. I know. But let's not talk about it now. You have class soon right? You better get going," Eliza said softly but getting the point across that he should leave. Alex nodded and stood up. He felt absolutely horrible. John got up to and took his arm. Alex jumped, he'd nearly forgotten he was there. He said bye to Eliza and he and John walked back to campus, in silence. 

John didn't like how quiet Alex was. "Hey," he said eventually, "it'll be ok." Alex nodded absentmindedly.

"I hope Peggy's ok."


	5. Chapter 5- wow I'm very creative with my chapter titles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pre-cabinet battle. This is just the warm-up kiddos. Thomas and Alexander get into a heated argument about something which I think has something to do with politics- I'm not really sure even though I'm the one who wrote this. And Washington has had enough of their "shannanagins" (is that how you spell that? It doesn't even look like a word?) Thomas may have a panic attack and Alexander may be an asshole... its all very possible. Oh, and Eliza is literally the only one who can calm Alex down. Thank you and goodnight. *mic drop*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look at that, I'm on time! 
> 
> So in this fun and exciting chapter you get a glimpse into Thomas' past- and it's not very nice (he has a n x i e t y leave him alone Alex). 
> 
> On a more serious note (well anxiety is also a very serious mental illness so please be safe) I think I'll probably post a second chapter this week. Maybe on like Friday? Cause you know, this is going too slow and I want to get to the exciting parts because MAN DO I HAVE A LOT OF STUFF PLANNED oh boy. So that's that. Expect another chapter later this week and enjoy this one for now:)
> 
> And I also want to say thanks to everyone who has read so far/is continuing to read. It means a lot!

The day is October 3rd, and the scene is... well... chaos.

"HOW CAN YOU EVEN SAY THAT! EVERYTHING YOU JUST SAID IS ENTIRELY WRONG!" Hamilton yelled at the top of his lungs. Thomas felt the heat rise to his face as he stood up from his seat, joining the already standing Alexander. 

"It's not wrong, it's just the truth! The truth you fail to see because you're so stubborn and small minded! I mean is your mental capacity as short as you are or-" 

"ARE YOU SERIOUSLY BRINGING MY HEIGHT INTO THIS JEFFERSON! I THOUGHT THIS WAS A POLITICAL SCIENCE CLASS NOT A-"

"Enough!" 

Washington's voice boomed across the classroom, silencing the two fuming boys. 

"You two, out in the hall now! You both need to take a walk to calm down!" he said sternly. "But sir-" 

"NOW!" Washington ordered. Hamilton bowed his head and stalked out of the classroom. Thomas just stood there, dazed. "I said now, Mr. Jefferson!" Washington ordered. 

Thomas stiffened and rushed out of the classroom. He could feel the eyes of everyone in that room on him, judging him. He felt his face go red as he walked quickly out the door. He tensed as he heard it slam behind him. His breathing quickened as he realized he had just gotten thrown out of his classroom. Oh my god. What if they suspended him? What if he was expelled from the class, or the school? He ran his fingers through his hair as his heart pounded like crazy. All the thoughts were swarming in his head, threatening to tear him apart. He tried to regulate his breathing but he barely had time to because he heard an all to familiar voice suddenly pipe up from behind him. 

"This is your fault you know," Hamilton grumbled. Thomas spun on his heels and glared at him. 

"My fault? You were the one who started it in the first place! With your rant about-" 

"Me? Sorry but I think your jeans are so tight their cutting off the circulation to your brain! You were the one who tried to argue with me about-" 

"Umm excuse me, what? My jeans are NOT too tight. They are perfect. Don't ever go after my fashion sense, you hear me you little shit?" 

"Your fashion sense?! You mean your ability to wear the most obnoxious colours imaginable?? I mean seriously, one look at your stupid purple pants and I want to VOMIT!" 

"Are you really mocking me for dressing nicely while you wear the same gross hoodie every single fucking day?!?!   
I mean seriously? Have you ever heard of a washing machine?!" 

"Have you ever heard of gun control?!? Because it's what our country needs right now and you and your stupid, tiny, stubborn brain seem to think we don't need them!! GUNS KILL PEOPLE JEFFERSON!" 

Thomas felt his face go red with anger. "No. PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE HAMILTON!" he nearly shouted. "Right! And what gives them the power to do that? GUNS! FUCKING GUNS JEFFERSON!" Thomas clenched his fists and took a step closer to Hamilton. 

"I would slap you if my mama hadn't taught me not to hit girls," he hissed. Hamilton took a step closer too. "Nice comeback, where'd'ya learn it? 1979?" Hamilton shot back. "While we're talking about the 1900's, they called, they said they'd like your hoodie back," Thomas sneered, smirk forming on his lips. Hamilton glowered and rolled his eyes. 

"Seriously, I thought you were supposed to be smart? Where's all the fire, Jefferson?" Hamilton shot back. The two of them were so close they were touching now. Thomas wanted to rip Hamilton's stupid little head off.

"I'm fucking warning you Hamilton, if you don't back down right now-" 

"You'll what? Force me to stare at your ridiculous outfits until I gauge my eyes out and die from second hand embarrassment?" Hamilton sneered. There was a smirk on his face and fire in his eyes. Thomas fought for a comeback. Hamilton's smirk deepened as he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. 

"Awh, what's the matter Jefferson? Cat got your tongue?" he chimed in fake sympathy. Thomas felt his insides twist in rage but he still couldn't think of anything to say. All he could think about was how much he hated this stupid little shit in front of him. He hated the way Hamilton smirked. He hated the way he was so stubborn and angry. He hated how he was Washington's favourite, despite how awful he was. He hated how he tore him apart and embarrassed him daily in the class. Although Hamilton would do that to anyone he disagreed with. 

He felt the anger start to dissipate as he realized Hamilton wasn't worth it. He took a deep breath and then shrugged. 

"Whatever Hamilton, I don't care. Go fuck yourself or whatever," he said as he turned away and started walking. Washington had told them to go for a walk after all, and he didn't want to get into even more trouble with his professor. He relaxed as he increased the distance between him and Hamilton. But that didn't last long, because soon he heard the Caribbean calling after him.

"Are you fucking kidding me Jefferson?!? Are you really going to walk away from this?!" Hamilton yelled as he stalked after Thomas. 

"Yep!" Thomas called over his shoulder and he picked up his pace. "Of course you are! Just like every other Republican! Fleeing as soon as things get heated! YOU'RE SUCH A FUCKING COWARD!"

Thomas stopped dead in his tracks, the anger returning full force. Suddenly, he wasn't on campus anymore, he was at home in Virginia, in the living room of his house. He whipped around. Alexander was gone, and in his place stood his father, Peter Jefferson.

"What are you? Gay? Are you a fucking pussy or what, Thomas? THROW A GODDAMN PUNCH FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!" Peter yelled at him. Thomas shook with rage. The blood had drained from his face. He clenched his fists. 

"Shut up," he muttered under his breath, feeling too small, too weak to make it any louder. 

"What did you just say to me you little shit?" Peter's voice boomed. Thomas wanted to scream and cry at the same time. His heart raced and he couldn't seem to catch his breath. 

"NO SON OF MINE IS A FAGGOT PIECE OF SHIT!" the voice shook Thomas to the core. He couldn't handle it. The world was spinning. Why was it so hard to breath. And why did it feel like he was trapped in a small box and the walls were closing in on him tighter and tighter, starting to crush him-

"I'm not a faggot," Thomas whispered, although he knew he was lying to himself. 

Suddenly, there was a hand on Thomas' arm. He closed his eyes as he awaited his punishment. He waited for the pain, for the beating, but it never came.

"Jefferson? Thomas? Hello?! What the fuck?!" Hamilton said as he shook Thomas back to reality. 

He sucked in a breath. He blinked and suddenly he was back at school. He looked down to see Hamilton staring up at him bewilderedly. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" Hamilton asked. And although his words weren't nice, Thomas thought he caught concern in them. But that couldn't be right. Could it? No. Definitely not. He shook Hamilton's hands off.

"Leave me the fuck alone, Hamilton," he muttered as he turned around. "Jesus. Sorry for being concerned," Hamilton muttered sarcastically. Thomas stopped. Did he hear that correctly? He turned around but Hamilton was already walking the other way. 

Thomas walked around campus for the next half hour in a daze. He was suddenly exhausted but he hadn't a clue of where to go. He figured he could just go back to his dorm but he didn't know if Washington wanted to talk to him after what had gone down. So he just wondered the halls, circling back to his classroom occasionally. But every time he got there the door was still closed. He decided to just fuck it and go to his room. Things were already pretty bad so how much worse could they get anyways?

Once he got there he crashed onto his bed and screamed into his pillow, something he often did when he was upset. He took out his phone and sent a text to James, telling him to come to his room after his class. Ten more minutes went by and then James was knocking at his door. He opened it and his friend immediately asked what was wrong. Thomas smiled. James knew him so well.

James also knew about his piece of shit father and all the horror he had caused Thomas. So Thomas was ok with what happened next. His face fell and he sobbed, finally letting out what he had been holding in for so long. James took in a breath and stepped inside, slamming the door shut behind him. Thomas broke down in tears and collapsed against the wall. James tried to catch him but it was hard with such a height difference. James picked the shaking Thomas back up and helped him walk to his bed where he collapsed into it. Thomas covered his mouth in an effort to muffle the sobs that wracked through his body. He hated crying, he hated feeling weak. It was something his father used to shame him for and he'd never get over that feeling. He felt guilty after crying or showing any kind of weakness, something he could thank his dear old dad for. 

"Shh, Thomas," James cooed as he rubbed his friend's back, "what happened?" Thomas choked on a sob as he tried to speak. He sucked in a breath and force his body to stop shaking. "I- I had a- a flashback-" he said through sharp breaths. 

"Shh. Of what? Peter?" James asked calmly. Thomas nodded, screwing his eyes shut tight. James stroked a hand through Thomas' hair. "Shh. It's ok. What happened in the flashback?" he asked. "He- he just said to stop being a pussy. No son of his is a faggot piece of shit," Thomas said, finally being able to slow his breathing. James continued to stroke his back soothingly.

"Ok. It's ok. He's not here now, he can't hurt you. And more importantly, you aren't a faggot piece of shit, ok? You're strong and you're a man, no matter what your sexuality is," James reminded him. 

Thomas nodded. "Yeah, I know," he said, his voice small. 

"Good. I think you should skip English today. I'll give you the notes, ok?" James asked. Thomas nodded. He took and deep breath and closed his eyes. He was going to be ok.

\-----

"James, where is Thomas?" Lafayette asked James later in their English class. 

"He's not feeling well," James said simply. 

"Oh dear. Alexander told me what happened in their previous class, is he alright?" Lafayette asked, concern in their voice. James nodded. 

"Yes. He's fine." he replied stiffly. He didn't want to discuss Thomas' well being with Lafayette, even though they did seem to be a fairly good person. 

"Alright, if you say so. Tell him I hope for his well being, yes?" they asked kindly. James nodded courtly. "Of course, Laf." 

\-----

"Jeez Alex, calm down," John said from his place on his bed. 

"I can't!" Alex seethed from where he was pacing the small room. 

"There's nothing you can do about it now," Hercules reasoned from his place on Laf's bed. 

"Hercules is right, you must calm down, mon ami," Laf said from their place next to Hercules on their bed. 

"You guys don't understand! He's awful! I can't stand him! I want to rip his head off! And now I might get in trouble with Washington, all because he couldn't keep his stupid mouth shut!" Alex complained, arms flailing wildly as he gestured uncontrollably in his fit of rage.

"I doubt Washington will get you in trouble, he fucking loves you," Hercules reasoned. "He does not! Stop saying that! And besides, he's a damn good professor, he wouldn't go easy on me just because I'm his favourite- which I'm not!" Alex protested. He continued to pace the room and John sighed. 

"I think we need backup," he said, looking at his other two friends, who nodded in agreement. Alex just rolled his eyes. 

"Time to call Eliza," they all said in unison.

"Guys! You don't have to call her! I'm perfectly fine! And she's busy and-" 

"Hi, Eliza. We need you to come over... Yup, the usual... worked up about Jefferson... Alright, thanks," John hung up the phone. Alex groaned and dragged his hands down his face. "You didn't need to call her!" he whined. 

"Alex, do you want to see your girlfriend or not?" Lafayette asked. "She's not my girlfriend! We're just friends!" Alex snapped. 

"What? I say friend and she is a girl, non? Correct me if I am wrong please. You all know pronouns are important to me," Lafayette said. Hercules shook his head. 

"Nope, not a pronoun problem here babe, just a language one," Hercules replied casually, not realizing the word he let slip.

The room went silent, waiting for him to explain. "What?" Hercules asked, confused. 

"Did... you just call Laf 'babe'?" John asked, eyebrow raised. Hercules snorted. 

"No!" he said, seemingly sure of himself. Everyone stared at him oddly. "No...?" he then asked uncertainly. They continued to stare. "Did I?" They all nodded.

Hercules felt his face go red. "I- I didn't mean to..." he said quickly as he turned to Laf who was looking at him oddly. Hercules felt his gut twist, cruel realization flooding him. He had just made things super weird. 

But then, to his surprise, Lafayette snorted and started laughing. Hercules chuckled nervously for a second, but then he started laughing with them- well more AT them as they started to turn red in the face.

"Sorry Laf!" he apologized again through his laughter. 

"No! That is great!" Lafayette couldn't stop laughing. Alex and John snickered but only at the fact that the other two were laughing so hard. 

"Say it again!" Laf grinned at him. 

"No!" Hercules protested. 

"Come on! For me? I am your babyyyyyy!" Lafayette sang. Hercules shoved them and they both erupted in laughter again. 

"You two are weird," John remarked. Just then there was a knock at the door. Alex nearly ran to open it. John, Laf, and Herc all shared a knowing look.

"Oh Alexander, what did he do this time?" Eliza asked as she gave him a hug. "I'd be happy to explain!" Alex chimed bitterly as he shut the door behind her. Laf, Herc, and John all groaned as Alex retold the story again, exaggerating the details. By the end of it he was glowering in rage once again. 

"He's just- I just can't- ugh!" he finished eloquently, throwing his hands in the air. Eliza took a deep breath before walking over to him and giving him a bear hug, something she knew always calmed him down. Alexander stiffened but then relaxed at the contact. 

"Just try to ignore him, ok? I know it's hard and I know he's the worst but you have to do it because if you keep going on like this you're going to get expelled," Eliza said, the voice of reason finally getting through to Alex through her words. She pulled away from the hug and stared into Alexander's eyes. "And we both know you worked too damn hard to end it that way," she added. 

Alexander stared back at her wide eyed. For a second he forgot why he wasn't with her, but then he remembered. 

"Yeah ok," he said. /They just wanted to stay friends/. "You're absolutely right," he said. /Because anything more would get too complicated/. "I'll try to stay calm," he said. /And they didn't want to ruin the friendship they had together/. 

Eliza smiled and nodded. "Good. That's what I like to hear. So, what have you guys been up to?" Eliza asked as she turned to look at the others, whom she had become good friends with as well. 

John filled her in on how Hercules called Laf "babe" and they both exploded into laughter again. And Laf said how Thomas "wasn't feeling well" after the scene he and Alex had caused, and how he didn't show up to English. Alex paused. 

"Wait, what did you say Laf?" he asked said person.

"Hmm? Oh, Thomas was not in English class. James said he was not feeling well," they replied. Alex furrowed his eyebrows. Why was Jefferson not feeling well? Was he seriously that pathetic to not show his face after their little argument? Had his pride been hurt that much? But then Alex thought back to that moment after the fight, when they were in the hall. Thomas had gotten quiet and pale, he had seemed like he wasn't receptive to what was going on around him. Alex remembered calling his name several times but getting no reaction from the man. He remembered how he was shaking, fists clenched and eyes glued to the ground. He remembered how he kept muttering things under his breath, almost insanely. And he remembered how terrified he had looked when Alexander shook him out of it. 

Something wasn't right. Thomas hadn't been himself then. And now he was missing class? Something didn't add up. Alexander was unaware of the conversation that had started up between his friends, he was too lost in his own thoughts. Was something wrong with Thomas? Was he actually mentally insane? He had to admit, he'd called Jefferson insane on more than one occasion but he didn't actually think he could be. 

And he couldn't seem to stop thinking about it. Not even when his friends started playing uno. Not even when he left for class. Not even while he was in class, and he was usually a good listener. What finally shook him out of the haze was when he realized he had spent almost the whole day worrying about Thomas fucking Jefferson. He shook himself back to reality and mentally scolded himself. He did not care about Thomas so why should he worry about him? Nope, he was done worrying. But he still couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with Thomas. 

\-----

Thomas was a ball of nerves as he walked into Washington's office the next morning. Saying that he felt like he was going to be sick would be an understatement. He picked at the skin around his finger nails, a nervous habit he had gotten into around age 12, and he knocked on the huge wooden door. He heard a muffled "come in" from the other side and took a deep breath. He slowly turned the knob and opened the door. 

Washington was inside, seated at his desk, an unimpressed expression on his face. Hamilton was also there, peering at Thomas curiously from where he sat in a leather seat in front of Washington's desk. Thomas held his breath, he hadn't known Hamilton would be here. He let out the breath and remembered what James had told him. Deep breathes and relax. He let his shoulders drop and he took the seat next to Hamilton. 

Thomas was aware of the way Hamilton was peering at him, but he pretended not to notice. However, he still couldn't help but feel the tension rise back into his shoulders as he felt Hamilton's eyes on him. He decided to focus on Washington, who was focused on a stack of papers. Thomas waited patiently for the professor to speak, but he never did. Thomas finally cleared his throat to get his attention. Washington still kept his eyes glued to the papers.

"Sir?" Thomas asked uncertainly. Washington finally glanced up at them. He felt relieve swell him but then he saw the look Washington gave the two of them and the nerves came swarming back. Washington sighed deeply and massaged his temples, not exactly a reassuring sign. 

"Gentlemen, you are both aware of why you are here, yes?" Washington asked, voice deep and huge even in the small room. They both nodded silently, which Thomas considered to be a miracle figuring how much Hamilton loved to talk.

"Good. So you know the position you have put me in?" Washington asked. They both nodded again. "So, gentlemen, I need a solution here. I don't want to have to suspend either of you so I'm hoping we can come up with a reasonable answer," he finished. 

Thomas and Alex both sat still. Thomas realized this was the longest he's witnessed Hamilton without speaking, he wished it had lasted longer. 

"Perhaps the solution would be to separate us, put one of us in a different class," Alexander offered, glancing to his right to glare at Thomas. Thomas didn't glare back, he took a deep breath instead. 

"With all due respect, sir, I would prefer not to transfer to a new class. School has been in session for a month and it would be much too difficult to catch up in a new class at this point in the semester," Thomas replied smoothly and calmly. 

"That's fair," Washington said as he nodded approvingly. Alexander made a small noise in protest. 

"But sir! Surely we cannot stay in the same class!" he complained. Thomas felt a smirk threatening to appear on his lips but he fought it back.

"I don't speak for Mr. Hamilton when I say this, but I for one can keep to myself in class from now on. Save our debates for a more appropriate time," Thomas said, earning another small noise from Hamilton.

"My thoughts exactly, Mr. Jefferson," Washington said, amusement glittering in his eyes. Thomas felt his stomach drop. 

"Sir?" Thomas asked, a little scared for whatever was about to come out of the professor's mouth. 

"Save your debates for a more appropriate time. I'm thinking... the debate team?" Washington proposed. Thomas' heart stopped. The debate team? With Alexander Hamilton? No. No no no no no no. No way! 

"Sir, if I may protest-" 

"THAT SOUNDS LIKE A WONDERFUL IDEA!" Alexander nearly shouted out for joy, interrupting Thomas. Thomas' mouth fell wide open as he gawked at Hamilton. He couldn't possibly be for this idea!

"Perfect! I thought so too! This way, you two can get your arguing over with before class!" Washington said happily. 

"Wait... did you say before class?" Thomas asked nervously. 

"Yes," Washington replied simply.

"But... class starts at 8:30..." Thomas went on. 

"Yes, and debate team practices at 7:00 so you'll have plenty of time to get to class on time!" Washington said. Thomas went pale. This was not happening. 

"Sir, I just have a couple que-" 

"Thank you so much Professor Washington, sir! You won't regret this!" Hamilton said quickly as he got up to shake Washington's hand, interrupting Thomas yet again. 

"I hope not, Mr. Hamilton," Washington said sternly as he shook Hamilton's hand. "I believe you two can see yourselves out?"

Hamilton nodded and headed for the door. Thomas stood, opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again and walked to the door. He turned to look at Washington, who had gone back to his papers, before exiting the office and closing the door behind him. 

"What the hell Hamilton!" Thomas said to Hamilton who was already walking away. Thomas had to jog slightly just to catch up to the little monster.

"What?" Hamilton spat. Thomas flinched at his harsh tone.

"You agreed to that?!? You want to wake up at 6 fucking a. m. to go to debate team?" Thomas asked incredulously. Hamilton shrugged. 

"I thought it was better then, oh I don't know, getting suspended!" Hamilton spat sarcastically. Thomas worked his jaw and tried to calm himself. Deep breathes and relax. 

"We could have come up with a better solution! One that didn't involve waking up at ungodly hours and spending MORE time with each other," Thomas hissed. Alexander rolled his eyes. 

"Believe it or not Jefferson, I DON'T want to spend more time with you and I'm NOT happy about this solution but right now, I'm in Washington's good graces and I'd like to keep it that way," Alexander replied. Thomas scoffed. Of course Alexander thought of it this way, he only cares about himself after all. 

"So what? You're kissing daddy Washington's ass now?" Thomas drawled. Alexander turned beat red and stopped dead in his tracks. Thomas stopped too and turned to face Hamilton, preparing himself for whatever stupid remark would come next. 

"Don't you dare say that again!" Hamilton hissed. There was practically steam pouring out of his ears. Thomas revelled in how riled up he had made the little immigrant. He smirked and crossed his arms. 

"What's wrong Hamilton? Daddy issues?" Thomas cooed. Hamilton was visibly shaking with rage now, which only fuelled Thomas' confidence. 

"Are you sad you made your daddy upset? You wanna make it up to him? You wanna bend him over backwards and-" 

Thomas couldn't finish his sentence because all of a sudden he couldn't breath. Hamilton and stepped up to him and punched him right in the gut, knocking all the air out of his lungs. Thomas doubled over in pain as he sucked in desperately for air. 

Alexander bent down so he was level with Thomas, but not so far down that he was shorter. 

"Say that again and next time your lungs leave your body through your esophagus," Hamilton growled lowly. Thomas couldn't say anything because he was still gasping for air. Alexander scoffed and stood up. Thomas watched from his crouched position as he walked away. He was so angry, so angry, But he couldn't do anything. Eventually he stood up and caught his breath, leaving him with only a dull ache in the centre of his stomach. He made a mental note to get Hamilton back for that, and he already started to come up with ways to do it. 

Hamilton was going to regret that one.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas has to live with the consequences of his actions from the last chapter and wake up at ungodly hours to go and debate with the person he despises most in the world. (Well.... for now;)) 
> 
> And then we get a cute little snippet of Lafayette and Hercules' relationship, which I cheekily named "The Mullette Interlude". This will be the first of three mullette interludes, and trust me they just keep getting better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wrote this and decided to post early because I said I would and I wanted to so yeah, that's that. There will still be a post on Monday and don't worry, we get right back into the drama then. For now, enjoy this sweet little chapter of innocent arguing and sweet, adorable coffee dates. 
> 
> Too bad the fluff won't last for long:(

Thomas groaned so loudly when his alarm went off at 6am that the whole dormitory building could have heard him. He sleepily turned it off and dragged his hands down his face. Why why why why why had he agreed to this? This had to be the worst thing Thomas had ever endured, and he wasn't even at the debate club yet. He just couldn't wait to spend a whole hour with Hamilton, dedicated to arguing with him. And although getting the short man all riled up was fun, it was losing it's charm and causing Thomas more headaches than necessary. For a minute he seriously considered just skipping it and staying in bed and dealing with the consequences later. 

But then the reasonable side of his brain argued that it was only and hour and it was only twice a week and this way Washington would maybe have regained some respect for him. Thomas didn't like the reasonable side of his brain very much, it made him wake up early and spend more time with Thomas' least favourite person in the world. He groaned one last time for good measure, just to let that side of his brain know he wasn't happy with the decision it made, before finally dragging himself out of bed.

He stripped and turned on his shower, whining at how cold it was. It barely warmed up and Thomas was forced to scrub himself clean as quickly as he could to avoid possibly getting hypothermia. Then he paused to consider it, because hypothermia might actually get him out of this, but then the reasonable Thomas took control and made him get out of the shower. He dried and clothed himself as quickly as possible and then went through his usually hair regiment, although that also had to be cut slightly short when he realized he was late. He muttered about how stupid the whole thing was as he pulled on his shoes and grabbed his bag. Then he was out the door.

He walked quickly to the room where the debate team rehearsed, which was actually their political science classroom. When he got there he was about 14 minutes late and everyone seemed to be there already, including Hamilton. The man stared at him with barely contained amusement in his eyes from his place in a circle of chairs. Hamilton smiled innocently and waggled his fingers at Thomas, who made a point to glare at him as much as he could. The little shit wasn't getting to him today, not after the shit he pulled yesterday. Thomas rolled his eyes and fake smiled back, feigning innocence as well. 

Thomas walked over to where the rest of the group was in the centre of the room. There were chairs set up in a semi circle around two small podium at the front of the class. Thomas assumed that was where the two poor souls who were debating had to stand. He then wanted to scream when he realized he would have to be one of them. He dragged his feet across the floor as he walked glumly to the circle. He sat down in the only empty seat, which was of course beside Hamilton, and sighed dramatically, rubbing his temples with his thumbs. Why why why why why?

"So, now that Jefferson has so favourably graced us with the stench of arrogance that is his presence, we can start," Hamilton piped up happily. Thomas turned his head to glare at the Caribbean. Hamilton pouted and batted his eyelashes innocently. "Awh, what's wrong, Tommy? Didn't get enough beauty sleep?" Hamilton said in a baby-voice. Thomas worked his jaw and continued to glare menacingly at the infuriating blob of green in front of him. 

"No, Hamilton. I got plenty of rest," Thomas drawled sarcastically. Hamilton snorted and said, "well your bed head and the bags under your eyes would suggest otherwise."

Thomas heard a couple of people in the circle snicker and he whipped his head around to glare at them. They instantly fell silent and Thomas shot them a fake smile before turning back to Hamilton, who was know grinning like an evil jack-in-the-box. 

"Should you really be the one to talk about bags, Hamilton? Because with the size of the bags under your eyes I could pack my whole closet," Thomas shot back. Hamilton's grin fell and Thomas smirked. 

Gotcha, he thought proudly. Something inside Hamilton's eyes lit up and the grin returned, setting off an uneasy feeling in Thomas. 

"Sorry Jefferson, no bag is big enough to fit your endless supply of purple skinny jeans. Next time, maybe think about buying a different colour? One that's less likely to cause seizures when looked upon."

Thomas' face went red as a couple of their classmates went, "ohhh" and "burn" and "oh shit!" Thomas laughed bitterly and rolled his eyes. If it was a game Hamilton wanted, it was a game he was going to get, and a game he was going to lose.

"Again, don't ridicule my sense of fashion when you only own one outfit," he replied, voice cold and sharp. He felt pride swell in him as the other students gave him an even bigger reaction. Hamilton shot every one of them a death glare before returning it to Thomas. 

"By the way Thomas, how are you feeling after yesterday? I heard you had to skip English class because you 'weren't feeling well'. I hope everything's alright," Hamilton said, fake sincerity in his voice. The room went silent.

Thomas' stomach twisted in anxiety and he felt the colour drain from his face. How had Hamilton found out about that? He went to speak but no words came out of his mouth. The silence in the room was deafening as everyone waited for Thomas' reply. Finally, he managed to find his tongue. 

"You really shouldn't talk about subjects you know nothing about, Hamilton. No one likes a blabbering, ignorant idiot," Thomas hissed. Hamilton sat quietly, glancing around at the students who were staring at him, waiting for his reply. Thomas would be grinning in his victory right that moment but his heart was racing far too fast and the ball of nerves in his stomach was far too tight. 

"You're right, I don't like President Trump either," was Hamilton's carefully crafted reply. At that, the whole room burst into a series of "ohhh snap"'s and "buuuurn"'s and even a "oh shit he right though". 

Thomas scoffed and rolled his eyes. How immature! How disrespectful! How rude! How could Hamilton have the audacity to turn Thomas' victory around in such a petty, immature way? His reply didn't match Thomas' at any level, it barely passed as a Hamilton level response. Sure, Hamilton was infuriating, but at least he was intelligent and quick witted. Not to mention how he deliberately used Thomas' vulnerability and suffering against him. Thomas had never felt so angry, embarrassed and small at the same time. He wanted to fight, he wanted to scream, but mostly he wanted to slap the grin off of Hamilton's face.

"Nice response, who came up with it? A fourth grader?" Thomas muttered. He didn't have much fight left in him. 

"No but I'm sure a fourth grader could beat you in a debate," Hamilton laughed. Thomas glared at him. 

"If I wasn't so exhausted I'd beat the shit outta you," Thomas grumbled. Hamilton grinned wickedly and settled back in his seat. 

"Just like you did after I socked you in the gut yesterday?" Hamilton practically sang. The room exploded again and Hamilton laughed wickedly along with them. Thomas wasn't sure which thing he wanted most: to die or to kill Hamilton. He quickly settled on the latter, because that way he could live to feel the satisfaction of finally destroying the gremlin.

"Very mature Hamilton! Now can we please just get this over with? I want to leave this hell as soon as possible," Thomas called, forced to raise his voice over all the chaos. 

"Sure sure, but are you ready to be completely destroyed again?" Hamilton shot back. Thomas smiled sweetly. 

"Whatever helps to get you off, darlin," Thomas replied, layering on his southern accent just for the hell of it. 

The room went wild. Hamilton went red, although this time with embarrassment. Thomas had no idea how he had thought up such a thing to say, but he was glad nonetheless. This time he grinned wickedly at the red faced Hamilton. The Latino wiggled uncomfortably in his seat and crossed his arms, muttering something like "whatever, you tall pompous shit. You're probably the one getting off on this." Thomas wanted to laugh out loud.

Eventually the room calmed down and they got down to business. The meeting was mostly just informing Thomas and Hamilton what they did, about the monthly debate competitions, and other boring things which Thomas only half listened to. After the meeting was over, Hamilton got up quickly and stormed out of the room. Thomas felt the urge to run after him for some reason, and before he could stop himself, he did exactly that. He jogged to catch up and caught Hamilton just outside the class. He grabbed Hamilton's shoulder and started to form the word "hey" but only got to the "h" before Hamilton pushed his hand off forcefully and kept walking. Thomas blinked and stood still for a second before pursuing him once more.

"Hey Hammie! What's the big deal?" Thomas called tauntingly. Hamilton kept walking. "Are you really in such a rush to get away after our little argument? What, are you going to jerk off while you're still hot-" 

He was cut off by Hamilton who had suddenly turned around and shoved him backwards. Thomas staggered a little but the little Caribbean barely had enough strength to knock him over. Hamilton glared daggers at Thomas, killing him with his expression of pure rage. Hamilton walked up and shoved Thomas again, causing him to take a couple steps back to regain his balance. Thomas blinked and gaped in surprise. Had he really gotten under his skin that much?

"You know what, Jefferson? One of these days you're going to run your mouth off like that again and you're going to regret it. Because one of these days I'm gonna snap and you're going to get the shit beaten out of you because, despite what you might think, I've had plenty of experience with rich, pompous assholes and I've gotten into my fair share of fist fights and I am NOT as weak as you might think I am. So if I were you, I'd shut the fuck up before I get myself fucking killed!" 

Hamilton's voice was low and rough and sort of terrifying. Thomas blinked in shock. He felt a little tinge of fear creep into his mind. Hamilton looked dead serious about everything he was saying and Thomas didn't think he'd ever seen him this mad. He didn't know what to say. Hamilton just stood there, glaring up at him with a look that could kill. Thomas took in a breath and righted himself again, regaining his composure and, more importantly, his height difference over Hamilton.

"Course I'll stop, darlin. But only if you promise to back off too," Thomas said, drawling out the southern accent in his voice once again. Hamilton frowned and turned a deeper shade of red. Thomas waited patiently and smugly for his reply.

"Fine." Hamilton spat out through gritted teeth. Thomas smirked. 

"Guess we've come to an agreement, for once," Thomas said, added on the last two words bitterly. Thomas stuck out his hand, purposely knocking Hamilton's elbow as he did. 

"Deal?" Thomas asked, smirk on his lips and smugness in his eyes. Hamilton glanced at the outstretched hand and glared back up at Thomas. He huffed angrily before gripping Thomas' hand and shaking it roughly. 

"Deal." he spat out. Thomas grinned. 

"Pleasure doing business with you, Hammie!" he sang happily. Hamilton threw his hand away and wiped it on his jeans as if it was physically covered in filth, a look of disgust ok his face. 

"I hate you," he grumbled. 

"Likewise," Thomas hissed. They stared each other down for another moment before finally parting ways. Thomas couldn't help but wonder when they would break their little agreement, and who would do it first. 

\-----

Lafayette was bored out of their mind. They didn't have anything to do. They had finished their homework long ago and they had gotten tired of browsing the internet on their phone. They laid on their back on the bed in their dorm room, contemplating their options. They could go to the gym, but they didn't want to do that. They could find someone to hang out with, but John, Thomas, and Alexander were all in class at the moment. Then they thought about Hercules. Hercules may not be busy. They decided to try it anyways, what was the harm in that? They pulled out their phone and started typing. 

To: HERC

Hello! Are you busy? I am bored:(

They waited for a minute for the dots to appear to indicate Hercules was typing, but they didn't pop up. So, they sighed and shut off their phone. Hercules was probably busy anyways. And who said he even wanted to hang out with Lafayette? That last thought sent a little pang through their chest. They closed their eyes and sighed deeply. There was always the gym- ping! 

Lafayette blew their eyes back open at the sound of their phone going off. They opened it to read the message.

From: HERC

Nope! Wanna get a coffee or something?

Lafayette's heart soared into the air as a smile spread across their face.

To: HERC

Yes! Meet me at the lounge?

From: HERC

Be there in 5

Lafayette smiled and turned off their phone. They bounced off the bed and slipped into their shoes. They paused before going out the door. Should they bring a jacket? It might be chilly outside. They shrugged and left it, it was October, how cold could it be? They smiled as they walked down the hallway and down the one flight of stairs, bringing them to the lounge area where Hercules was going to be. There was no sight of him yet, but that didn't worry Lafayette. They strolled in and took a seat on the couch, resting their foot on their knee and slinging an arm around the back of the couch casually. They checked the time on their phone. Five minutes had passed, but of course it was ridiculous for Hercules to arrive exactly in five minutes, right? 

Lafayette tried not to think about it too much but they couldn't help it, they were the type to worry. They tapped the back of the couch nervously as they pretended to check their phone. 

"Hey Laf!" someone called. Lafayette looked up and smiled as they saw Hercules walking towards them. 

"Hercules! Hello! Ready for coffee?" they asked, standing up from the couch. 

Herc laughed and said, "not as ready as Alex usually is." Lafayette laughed at the joke and scratched at their cheek with their right thumb, an odd nervous habit they had. Hercules smiled at the way Lafayette did this, he'd always thought it was cute. They both walked out of the lounge and then out to campus which they walked across to get to the main city streets. 

They ended up going to their usual Starbucks, the one Peggy worked at. She was in fact behind the counter as Laf and Herc walked up to order. 

"Hey! French fry and horse fucker! What can I do for you?" Peggy asked cheerfully. 

"Why does everyone call me that?" Hercules asked with a sigh. 

"Umm because according to everyone, you got super drunk once and ranted about how awesome it would be to fuck a horse," Peggy replied matter-of-factly. 

"Jeez... you say something once while drunk and no one ever forgets it," Herc muttered. 

"Yep. Never forgetting it," Peggy replied with a grin. Lafayette giggled and did their little nervous habit again. 

"Shouldn't you be in school anyways?" Hercules asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Umm, we have the day off, dummy," Peggy replied. 

"Right. High schools still have those random days off. God what I would give to have one of those again," Hercules muttered. 

"And god what I would give to be free from my prison of judgy, smelly teenagers," Peggy sighed. Lafayette giggled again. 

"One more year. Hang in there," Hercules said. 

"Yeah whatever," Peggy muttered with a laugh, "so are you two gonna order or not!" They both laughed at that. 

"Yeah yeah, I'll have a medium green tea and Laf will have... a chai latte," Hercules said.

Lafayette scoffed. "You do not want to ask me first?" they asked, fake offence in their voice. Hercules smirked. 

"Well, isn't that what you want?" he asked smugly. 

"I-..." Lafayette trailed off, realizing that was exactly what they wanted. They scoffed again and rolled their eyes. 

"Thought sooo," Hercules chimed in satisfaction. Peggy put in the order and took the money from Hercules. Laf then insisted on paying for their drink but Hercules wouldn't allow it. Peggy rolled her eyes and muttered under he breath, "Why are all the hot guys so gay for each other?" Hercules and Laf didn't even hear her over their own bantering and laughing. She just sighed and resigned to making their drinks.

Once she came back the two of them had already switched to another topic. 

"How can you think bell-bottoms should be back in style? They are the worst!" Hercules argued. 

"No! They are chic and vintage-" 

"Your drinks, your highness'," Peggy said as she bowed jokingly while handing them their drinks. They both laughed at took the drinks. 

"Thank you Peggy, chère!" Laf called. She smiled and bowed again as she went to serve the next customer. Laf and Herc retreated to a table where they sat and talked about everything and anything for an hour or so, sipping on their drinks periodically. 

"So, you and Thomas switched identities from time to time when he was in France?" Hercules asked incredulously at some point after Laf had brought it up.

"Yes!" they replied with a laugh. 

"There was this one time when a girl had asked me to dance, but I did not want to. So, instead of saying no, Thomas and I switched clothes and he danced with her! She had no idea!" Lafayette told him, barely getting through the story without laughing. 

"Oh my god! How did that not backfire on you?!" Hercules asked.

"It did! Thomas ended up tripping and falling on his face in front of EVERYONE! No one let me live it down afterwards, even though it was not me!" Lafayette said, their sides starting to hurt from laughing so much. Hercules burst into laughter after that. 

"We have to tell Alex that!" Hercules insisted. 

Eventually they headed out and walked back to campus. The air had gotten chilly and Laf was regretting not bringing their jacket. They hugged themselves as they walked back with Hercules, biting their lip from the cold. Hercules noticed Laf's shivering and shook his head disapprovingly.

"Here," he said as he shrugged his jacket off and put it around Laf. Laf's eyes widened and they gasped softly in surprise. They stared into Hercules' eyes as the man wrapped it around their shoulders. And in that moment, Lafayette's mind stopped working. They blushed softly and smiled, wrapping their fingers around the leather fabric. 

"Thank you," Laf murmured shyly. Herc shrugged non-chalently, trying to cover up for the way his heart was pounding in his chest all of a sudden.

"It's nothing. We should get back, it's cold." 

They both walked back to campus together, and Lafayette couldn't shake the smile off their face.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when your three friends get drunk and your "girlfriend-but-not-your-girlfriend" and her two sisters come over and you all get drunk? There's only one right answer, and it's entertainment.
> 
> Warning: the following chapter contains scenes of extremely sweet and tooth decaying fluff as well as lots of immaturity and drunken foolishness. The characters in this chapter are equally oblivious and naïve as well as stupid and drunk. It's hilarious and adorable, trust me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyy, so this is another longer chapter, but it's really frigging cute so I'm not sorry. Anyways, enjoy the chapter! (And lol that warning was just a joke this chapter is very sweet and innocent)

Eliza was at her desk working on an assignment for one of her classes when her phone started to buzz. She quirked an eyebrow and picked it up, flipping it over to the screen side to see who was calling her. A smile crept onto her face when she saw Alexander's name pop up. She hit the "accept" button and put the phone to her ear. 

"Hello?" she asked, hearing the sounds of laughter and music in the background. 

"Eliza! Ma chère! What are you doing right now?" Lafayette's accented voice called through the phone. Eliza blinked, more than slightly confused. 

"Laf? Why are you using Alexander's phone?" Eliza asked skeptically. She heard more laughter in the background as well as something that sounded like protesting. 

"Ah! This is because dear Alexander is- hey! Alexander! Alexandre arrêtes ce moment! Non... je m'en fiche! Elle veut te voir!... Ben si tu me donnes un moment pour m'expliquer-" 

Eliza was completely lost. It sounded as though Laf was having a conversation in French with Alexander, but she didn't have the slightest idea what it was about. There was a ruffling sound and then more laughter and protests. And then suddenly there was a loud bang and everything was quiet. 

"Hey," Alexander's voice said through the phone. He sounded out of breath. Eliza smiled, her heart warming at the sound of his voice. 

"Hey! You got your phone back I hear," Eliza said sweetly. Alex laughed lightly. 

"Yeah... Laf's a little out of control... they're all drunk... again," Alex said with another laugh. Eliza laughed at this too. 

"I'm surprised you haven't joined them," she said, amusement in her voice. Alex barked a laugh. "I would be if I didn't have a huge test on Monday," he replied. Eliza sat back in her chair, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her feet at the edge of the chair. 

"A test, huh? And I bet those guys aren't exactly helping you study?" she said. Alexander laughed again. "Yeah, the opposite actually. I think I might need to find new friends," he said jokingly. Eliza smiled and played with her hair unintentionally. 

"Well... I'm always here," she said, obviously trying to drop the hint. There was a pause on the other end of the phone and then, "Don't you have that assignment to do?" Eliza smiled even wider. He remembered. 

"I'm almost finished, and I need a break anyway," she said. Another pause. "Well if you don't mind hanging out with me and three drunken idiots in a tiny dorm room then..." was Alexander's reply. 

Eliza giggled. "Of course not. I'll be there in 10," she said before hitting the "end call" button. She smiled to herself and then got up to change out of her silk blue pyjamas, which she was already wearing. She quickly slid into a pair of blue jeans and a light blue sweater before heading out. On her way out the door she called out to her Mother where she was going. Her mom asked when she was going to be back and she replied with a vague, "Not too late I promise!" She was almost out the door when Peggy popped up beside her. 

"Where are you going so late at night?" Peggy sang, curiosity in her eyes. Eliza sighed, there was no way she was going to get past Peggy without telling her the truth, she was a terrible liar and Peggy was very good at detecting them. 

"Alex invited me over. Apparently his friends have all gotten drunk and he needs someone sober to talk to. And before you say anything, I'm going over as a friend, nothing more!" Eliza explained to her younger sister. Excitement shone in Peggy's eyes and a smirk danced across her face. 

"Uh huh..." she chimed sarcastically, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms over her chest. Eliza laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm going, see ya!" she said as she opened the front door. 

"Not so fast!" Angelica called from behind her. Eliza winced and turned around, putting the most innocent expression on her face before facing her older sister. 

"Yes?" she squeaked, voice betraying her innocent act. Angelica stared at her for a moment, unreadable expression on her face. Then she smiled and held out her keys. 

"I'll drive you. It's late and cold," she said. Eliza smiled gratefully. "Thanks!" she said happily before reaching for the door again. Her and Angelica made their way out but soon Peggy was racing after them. 

"Hey wait! I wanna come!" she called just as Angelica started the car. "No, Pegs, it's already late and-" Angelica started to protest. 

"-and it's Saturday tomorrow! Pleeeaaaase!" Peggy interrupted, using the biggest puppy eyes she could conjure up. Eliza gave Angelica a look and the eldest sister sighed. 

"Fine. Get in," she resigned. Peggy whispered a "yes!" under her breath as she climbed into the backseat. They drove along the fairly empty streets (for New York that is) and blasted the radio, singing along to the songs the whole ride. Eliza loved times like these with her sisters.

They arrived at the college and Eliza expected to just be dropped off, but to her surprise, Angelica parked and got out of the car with Peggy.

"Oh. I didn't realize you guys wanted to stay," Eliza said, trying not to sound disappointed. Because she wasn't, she loved spending time with her sisters, but she was hoping to spend some time alone with Alexander. Angelica shrugged while Peggy gasped. 

"I just thought-" 

"I can't believe you don't want to spend time with me! I am your sister!" Peggy interrupted Angelica, mock offence in her voice. Eliza laughed. 

"No! That's not what I meant at all! I'm just surprised. I wasn't expecting it is all," she explained.

Angelica smiled and grabbed Eliza's arm affectionately. "Come on, let's go deal with these drunken idiots," she said with humour in her strong voice. Eliza smiled. 

"Gladly," she replied. The sisters walked to the dorm building and then to John and Laf's room. They could already hear the laughter from outside. Angelica knocked and almost instantly, the door flew open. Alex stood on the other side, wide smile across his face which, upon seeing Angelica, turned into a confused grin. 

"Angelica?" he asked, confusion and happiness in his voice. Then his eyes moved to Eliza. "Eliza!" he exclaimed happily as all the confusion turned into joy. He ran up and gave her a huge hug. She laughed and hugged him back tightly. 

"Umm.... AND PEGGY! HELLO? I'm here too ya know!" Peggy exclaimed from behind Eliza. 

"Right, of course! Sorry Pegs," Alex said with a grin as he ruffled Peggy's hair. She frowned and swatted his hand away in response.

"I didn't realize you were all coming!" Alex exclaimed happily, glancing at all three women. "Yes well, life got boring back at home," Angelica said as she walked into the small room. The other three followed and Peggy added, "plus I really wanna get drunk!" Eliza looked at her disapprovingly and she laughed, adding, "I'm just kidding!" 

The sight inside the dorm room was both hilarious and startling. John was laying upside down on his bed, head hanging over the edge with his curly hair pooling on the carpeted floor. His face was beat red but he still had a huge grin on his face. Hercules was laying on the floor, laughing his head off at something Laf had just said, and Laf was sitting cross-legged on their bed, clutching their sides from laughing so hard. There were a couple beer bottles placed in odd places in the room and there was some sort of weird music playing softly in the background which Eliza couldn't identify. She laughed at the sight of them all.

"The Schuyler sisters! What an unexpected and pleasant surprise!" John said, voice wavering from being upside down. 

"The fuck is going on in here?" Peggy asked as she closed the door behind her. Alex answered first. 

"John is trying to see how long he can sit upside down for," he said as he pointed at John. 

"I'm on a path of self-discovery," John explained with a wicked grin. 

"Laf is playing his weird French music and Herc is laughing-slash-roasting about it," Alex finished. 

"It's just- so fucking- weird!" Hercules said through bursts of laughter. Lafayette laughed so hard they fell over sideways on their bed, tears escaping their eyes. 

"Ohhh ok I see," Peggy said as she stepped further into the room. Then, she grabbed a beer out of the 6-pack on the floor beside Hercules. "Get drunk and everything becomes better! That's what's going on here!" she exclaimed excitedly as she popped the cap off.

"Margarita Schuyler!" Angelica called warningly. Peggy paused, bottle half raised to her mouth, and pouted. 

"But Angieeeee! It's Friday and I promise I won't drink that much and-" 

"You forgot to get me and Eliza one," Angelica interrupted, a completely wild and out-of-character grin on her face. Peggy's face lit up and she pulled out two other bottles, handing them to her sisters. 

"Aha! The real Angelica Schuyler is finally brought to light!" Alex called as he raised his own bottle to his lips. Angelica rolled her eyes and threw her beer up, chugging at least half of it. She wiped her mouth and smirked at all the gaping faces around her. Then she said, "you bitches ain't seen nothing yet!" and the room exploded in laughter. "Yesss!" John shouted. He was so excited he slipped off the bed.

Everyone burst into laughter at the sight of him tumbling off the bed, crashing into Hercules as he did. By the time he stopped moving his face was completely red and he wasn't even making sound he was laughing so hard. 

"There goes your record!" Alex called, doubling over from laughing so hard. 

"This room's too smaaaall!" John whined as he rubbed his sore head. 

"Then let us get out of here! Let us... how you say, hit the streets!" Lafayette called. Everyone agreed. It was way too crowded in that tiny room. They all acquired their appropriate footwear and jackets and then they fled the dorm room. 

They weren't exactly sure where they were going, just that they were out and having fun. They chatted and laughed with each other as they walked through the New York City streets. Everything was lit up in the dark, the city coming to life even at night. As they walked past clubs they could hear the music blaring and as they walked past restaurants they could smell the delicious foods being cooked. Somehow, they had eventually made their way to Central Park. They walked through the huge park, enjoying the sudden peace and quiet away from the central city life. Eventually, they came to a stop somewhere quiet and sat down, Laf having been complaining about their feet hurting.

"Holy shit..." Alex whispered from is place on the cool grassy surface. "What?" Eliza asked, back against the ground and gazing up at the stairs through the tree branches. 

"It's so quiet..." Alex whispered. "Yeah, you're probably not used to that, given the fact that you never shut up," John said with a laugh. The group laughed lightly at John's joke. 

"Hardy-har, very funny," Alex drawled. "Awh come on, you know we love hearing your voice Alex," Eliza said sweetly. 

"Just probably not as much as you love hearing it!" Peggy quipped. The group laughed again and Alex huffed, although he had to fight to stifle the laugh coming up this throat. 

"Whatever," he sighed as he flopped onto his back, joining Eliza and her star gazing. 

Angelica noticed the two of them laying there and stood up, taking Peggy up with her by the arm. "Hey-" 

"Peggy and I are going to go... over here! Herc, Laf, John? Why don't you join us," she said. The said trio looked at her with confusion. Angelica nodded her head to Alex and Eliza and then cringed as Hercules exclaimed, "Ohhh!" 

"Yes! Come Hercules! I want to show you... this tree!" Lafayette called, pulling Herc up with them. The two stumbled their way to a tree that was fairly far away while Angelica dragged a slightly drunken Peggy away with her. John stayed for a minute, quietly staring at Alex and Eliza, who had no idea the others had even left. They were off in their own world, talking and laughing quietly. John's heart stung at the sight of it.

He wished- oh god he wished he could tell Alexander about his feelings. But he couldn't. Not only because Alexander would hardcore reject him, but because it would totally ruin their friendship. And he'd really only ever told Hercules about his queerness, since Hercules had been openly gay for almost all of high school. John hadn't really realized until senior year though, and even then he spent a good portion of the year trying to deny it. He knew his father wouldn't approve and just the thought of coming out terrified him. Eventually, he confided in Hercules. He would have done it sooner but he was also scared that it would ruin their friendship. For example, if Hercules thought John was into him or if he ever wanted to date John... he didn't want things to get complicated. 

But he eventually learned that life was complicated anyways and he was sick of trying to deny who he really was. He remembered the day he told Hercules so clearly.

/flashback/

I'm shaking so violently it almost hurts. I can't do this! How can I do this! This is going to change my life forever, no one will come near me after this. Hercules will hate me and all me other friends will hate me and my dad will hate ma and my siblings will hate me and-

"John," Herc says softly, which is weird, because the guy is the opposite of soft. He puts a hand on my shoulder, probably in an effort to get me to stop shaking. It doesn't work. I stare at him, knowing full well how wide and fearful my eyes are. But I can't help it, I'm scared. I'm scared of what might happen, of what he naught think of me, of what everyone might think of me. But Hercules will understand, right? 

"John, you can tell me, it's ok," Herc says quietly, which is ALSO weird because the guy rarely speaks quietly. My hands are shaking, my heart is pounding and I can hardly breath but I have to do this, so I take a deep breath anyways.

"I'm..." I trail off. The surge of confidence I had only moments ago running away and leaving me wordless. I just can't say it. The words are right there but they just can't seem to escape my mouth. 

"Go on, I'm right here and I support you. I'm your friend no matter what," Hercules says reassuringly, staring me down hard, despite his encouraging words. I'm starting to think Hercules already knows what I'm about to say, and he probably does, but that doesn't make it easier. He's still gonna make me say it out loud. And I know I have to say it out loud sooner or later anyways.

"I'm... I... I can't," I gulp, my throat suddenly going dry. Why am I so pathetic?

"Yes you can," Hercules says forcefully, as if he's fucking ordering me to say it. But somehow, that works. His words and confident yet harsh tone strike something in me and I feel a warm and welcoming rush of pride and confidence wash over me. I am who I am, and I'm proud to be who I am and I don't need permission from anyone to be myself.

"I'm gay!" I suddenly blurt out, much less confidently than I had felt only seconds ago, but at least I said it. I smile as I feel relief flood me. It doesn't even matter what Hercules says, I've finally told someone! I've waited so long...

"Thank god!" Hercules says loudly and suddenly. I feel my heart literally skip a beat as he startles me with his outburst. My gut wrenches at the words he had just said. What does that mean? I feel fear and dread fill me because, of course it matters what Hercules thinks of me! He's my best friend! And if I lose him... 

"I thought you'd never say it! Oh god. I'm so proud of you," Hercules shouts, a huge smile on his face. 

I blink in shock, only because I'm surprised at the amount of enthusiasm in his voice, because part of me knew he'd react positively, just not THIS positively.

Hercules suddenly grabs me by the arm and pulls me into a tight hug before I even have time to react and asses what's going on. 

"Welcome to the queer side, we have cookies," I hear him joke from over my shoulder. I snort at his stupid joke because, really? As if no one's thought of that one before. But then I feel something rise and flutter in my stomach and I start to laugh hysterically and uncontrollably. I feel lighter than air all of a sudden... maybe I'm high? 

"You alright, man?" I hear Herc ask. 

I nod and continue to shack from laughter, my sides burning and tears starting to well in my eyes from the sheer force of it. Then I realize that it's the immense relief that's making me like this and I start to laugh even more. How crazy is this? I came out! I'm out of the closet! Holy shit!

Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! 

There's this weird feeling in my heart and before I can stop myself, I'm actually sobbing. I'm crying but I can't stop smiling. What the fuck is going on?!?! I'm so fucking happy and relieved and thrilled and terrified at the same time!

I hear Herc laugh along with me and squeeze me a little tighter. This only makes me cry fucking harder because I've known him for forever and he is not the type to give out hugs. 

"Shit! I'm so fucking gay!" I gasp through laughs and sobs and hysterical breathing patterns. I sort of want to add, "and apparently pathetic!" but I don't.

"Yeah, and that's great. You can be yourself around me, ok? You don't need to be afraid," I hear my best friend say.

I nod and pull away from the hug. I smile at him and wipe my tears, laughing at myself for how much of a mess I probably am. But Herc doesn't care. And even better, I can tell he's proud of me. And the best part, I'm proud of me.

/end flashback/

John would never forget how he felt that day. And although he knew Hercules would deny how long that hug lasted (approximately 2 minutes) until the end of his days, he was always going to be grateful for it. And if only he had the guts to tell Alex how he felt. Would it be the same feeling as that day he first came out, or would it be completely horrible and terrifying and humiliating? John wasn't sure if he ever wanted to find out.

\-----

"So...." Alex whispered as he gazed at the stars. It was just him and Eliza there now. He wasn't sure where the others had gone but, quite frankly, he didn't care. In that moment, there with Eliza, talking with her and breathing in the amazing scent of her hair, that was all that mattered. She exhaled with a soft sigh, eyes glazed over from what effect the single beer had on her. There was a sad look in her eyes and it almost broke Alex's heart. 

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, voice soft, calm. She blinked, as if to snap herself out of a daze, and turned to look at him. He could tell there was something on her mind and he could tell she wanted to talk about it, but it seemed like she was having a hard time deciding whether she should or not. Alex was about to tell her he could be trusted, but then she spoke.

"You said your dad left you when you were little," she whispered, gazing into his eyes. He felt a pang to his heart all of a sudden, at the mention of his father, but he swallowed and shoved it away. He had long ago given up the ability for his father to have any effect on him and he wasn't going to let him hurt him all over again. So, he nodded. 

"Yeah, he did. And although I have no idea where he is, he's as good as dead to me," he replied, almost spitting the words out. Eliza looked at him sympathetically. Alex only rolled his eyes.

"Don't give me that look. I made sure I wouldn't let myself be hurt by him a long time ago," he said reproachfully. Eliza then turned her gaze back to the stars. 

"I doubt that," she said simply, as if stating a well known fact. Alex blinked, face contorting into an expression of confusion and slight disdain in his face. 

"I'm sorry but how would you know?" he asked, a little bit more of an edge to his voice than he meant there to be. Eliza smiled sadly, closed her eyes and breathed a sigh. She took a little while to answer, obviously trying to form the right words or- or something. 

"Because, Alexander," she started softly. "My parents abandoned me too. And although it was when I was a baby and I have no memory of them-" her voice broke for a split second "-it still hurts to know that... that..." she trailed off, suddenly finding it hard to finish the sentence she said to herself all to often. She blinked and was surprised to feel a couple tears fall out.

"That they didn't want you," Alex said softly, finishing her sentence for her. She nodded, wiping the tears away quickly. Alex sighed this time, feeling slightly horrible about how he spoke down to Eliza, the one person in the world who might possibly understand him- the only other one being Angelica. 

"It's their loss, you know?" he piped up. 

Eliza shook her head, she'd heard that one a thousand times and not once had she believed it. Even so, Alex continued. 

"They left behind the best of women. And I can't imagine how sad their lives must be without you in it." Eliza closed her eyes. She'd had enough. 

"Alex, don't-" 

"Because I vividly remember my life before you were in it and, let me tell you, it's so much better now," he cut her off. He turned to look at her, holding her gaze. 

"You're the best thing to happen to me," he finished. 

Eliza stared, mouth slightly agape, eyes searching Alexander's. Then she sighed and turned back to the sky. Alex took the hint and returned his stare to the vast darkness above. 

"The stars are so beautiful," Eliza whispered suddenly as she and Alexander laid there together, on the grassy hill in Central Park. He smiled, fond of the way she changed the subject, but also at the idea for a reply that popped into his head. 

"Yeah... I bet they're saying the same thing about you," he muttered. Eliza smiled and blushed but shoved Alex softly. 

"Stop. Don't go all soft on me, Alexander," she said humorously. Alex barked a laugh and shrugged. "Well what can I say? You bring out my soft side... well, my softer side," he added. Eliza laughed this time. Leave it to Alexander to specify the softness of his soft side.

Alex suddenly scooted closer and put his hand in hers, bringing it close to his chest. Eliza's heart simultaneously warmed and broke. 

"Alexander..." she breathed, voice barely even a whisper. Alexander didn't say anything, he only squeezed her hand tighter. It broke Eliza's heart to say what she said next. 

"We can't... we already talked about it-" 

"I know," Alex interrupted her sadly. "But, your hands are so warm and- and it's only us here and it's not like we're making out and-" 

"Alex," Eliza stopped him. He sighed sadly. 

"I know," was all he said.

There was a long moment of silence between the two of them. In the distance Eliza could hear the others laughing about something, but all she wanted to do at that moment was cry. Her heart hurt, and she knew she could do nothing about it, and yet she didn't remove her hand from Alexander's grasp. 

"This fucking sucks," Alex suddenly said. Eliza breathed a laugh, although it was a sad laugh. 

"Yeah..." she said. It was all she should say. What do you say to the person you want to be with, but can't? What do you say to the person you're so close with you could tell them anything, but can't tell them how you're feeling at that moment because it would ruin things forever? Eliza didn't know the answer, and she hated not knowing the answer. So, eventually, she took her hand away and sat up, breaking the spell of the starry night sky. She looked down at Alex who looked back up at her. The moon light shone like a silver halo in his hair and glittered in his eyes. She smiled down at him, realizing that everything was going to be ok. Because at least he was still in her life, even if it was just as friends.

\-----

By the time the gang returned to the dorm room it was almost 3am and everyone was too tired to speak. Peggy, Eliza, and Angelica said their goodbyes and got into their car, driving back home through the now mostly empty streets of New York. The rest of them stumbled back up to their dorm room where they all crashed almost immediately. Alex and Herc both decided to crash at John and Laf's dorm because they were both too tired to go back to their own room/apartment. Alex borrowed a pair of sweat pants from John and pulled off his hoodie, he normally slept in a sweater but he was sweating hot at the moment, probably from the beer. Then he flopped into John's bed.

John came back from their bathroom a minute later to the sight of Alexander face-planted on his bed. 

"The fuck? Move over man!" John whined as he shoved Alexander to the edge against the wall. Alex groaned but he was already half asleep so he didn't really care. John felt his heart stop when he saw that Alex wasn't wearing a shirt. His eyes scanned him quickly, lingering on certain spots. He noticed the way Alexander's ribs poked out just a little too much and the way his collar bones protruded roughly. He watched as Alexander's chest rose and fell. Then he moved his eyes to his face, his perfectly calm, peaceful, beautiful face. His eyes were closed just so and his hair fell loosely around his face. And his arms were flung everywhere, one resting on his stomach and the other raised above his head. 

And John's heart wanted to cry. Fuck! All he wanted to do was crawl into bed with this beautiful boy and cuddle and hug him until the next morning. But he couldn't. 

John startled when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Hercules grinning at him maniacally. 

"You finally got him in your bed," he teased in a whisper. John frowned and rolled his eyes. "Shut up," he mumbled as he shoved Hercules away. John turned around to see Lafayette in their bed, curled up in a ball in the corner. John then smirked at Hercules. 

"And you finally got them in your bed," he whispered back to Hercules, who may or may not have blushed, it was dark and hard to tell. 

"Yeah well, they're already out like a light. Won't be much fun now," Hercules joked quietly. John scoffed a laugh and shook his head. 

"I was kidding," Hercules said, monotone. 

"I know," John said as he climbed into bed, "I just think you're in love with them is all." 

"What?!?!" Hercules whisper-shouted. 

John laughed for real this time. 

"I'm not in love! Jesus Christ Laurens!" Hercules protested, a little too loudly. Lafayette murmured in their sleep and rustled around. Hercules was instantly at his side, shushing and cooing him back to sleep. John smirked. 

"You were saying," he drawled teasingly. Hercules shot him a "be quiet!" look before hoping in bed and turning back to the mumbling Lafayette. 

"Mmmhmmm... non! C'est celui ci!.... non! Arrêtez... je le sais je le sais... mmhm," was what seemed to be coming out of their mouth. John and Herc bother laughed quietly. 

"What is he saying?" John whispered to his best friend. Hercules shrugged. 

"I have no idea but it sounds hilarious," he whispered with a laugh. 

"You mean it sounds hot," John muttered. 

"Stop!" Hercules said, a little too loudly once more. This time, Alex stirred, flipping onto his side and smacking John in the face with his hand. Hercules laughed as hard as he could without making too much noise. 

"You can't tell me you don't think Laf's accent is hot, Herc. I've known you 6 years," John whispered, turning the conversation back on Herc.

"And what about you and Alex's Spanish? Huh? You practically melt every time he speaks it," Hercules rebutted. John was so thankful for the darkness because he knew just how red his face was right then and he didn't want Herc to see it. 

"That's because I can actually understand what he's saying," John shot back. 

"Uh huh, and what IS he saying?" Hercules asked, amusement in his voice. Once again, John thanked God for the darkness. 

"I dunno... stuff..." was John's answer. Hercules just sighed deeply. 

"Man. You won't even admit it to yourself let alone him," he muttered. 

"Admit what?" John asked, feigning innocence. Hercules looked at him pointedly. "Don't play dumb with me, Laurens. I can see right through you," was his answer. 

John sighed, admitting defeat. "Yeah whatever," he grumbled as he flopped back onto his back. "Good night," Hercules chimed. "Night," John muttered back. And then there was silence, and it wasn't long until there was blackness as well. 

\-----

Lafayette woke up sometime around 8am. They remembered all the events of the previous night but they seemed to have forgotten about how they came to be in their own bed. They assumed that they were just so tired that they crashed as soon as they got back, and the fact that they were still in last nights clothes verified that assumption. They opened their eyes and sat up, rubbing their head as they did. They turned to the side and nearly screamed when they saw the body sleeping next to them. Their heart raced but then it slowed as he remembered it was just Hercules. It was just Hercules sound asleep... in their bed... next to them... where they had been all night...

Merde! They had slept with Hercules Mulligan! Well not slept WITH, but slept beside. They did not have sex, thank god. But still, it felt weird knowing that they had slept in the same bed as Hercules. They stared at the sleeping man with his mouth open wide and his face completely relaxed and... and he was cute when he slept. And Lafayette liked the way his short curly hair was all messy and they liked the way his chest rose up and down and they liked the way his shirt was rolled up halfway, revealing the most toned abs Lafayette had ever seen and- 

NO! Lafayette shook the idea out of their head and rushed out of bed, awkwardly having to move around the sleeping Hercules to do so. And then they got out of there and into the shower because god they smelt awful. 

\-----

Alex woke up next. It was to the sound of someone closing the door. He rustled around a bit, not wanting to open his eyes just yet. He groaned softly and snuggled back into whatever warm thing was behind him. He took the arm that was around his body and pulled it in tighter and- wait. 

That wasn't his arm. And what exactly was the warm, solid surface behind him. He opened his eyes and looked down to see a caramel coloured arm draped with freckles wrapped tightly around his torso. He blinked in confusions and turned the rest is the way around and- sure enough- there was John motherfucking Laurens. John Laurens was cuddling him, in his sleep! How did this happen? He gaped at his calm, sleeping face.

"Oh my god," he breathed quietly. He didn't know what to think. Sure, him and Laurens were bestfriends but he wasn't sure if this was pushing that boundary. He sat still, half way between a sitting position and a lying position, not wanting to move in case he woke John up. 

Eventually though, his abdomen started to burn from the awkward position, and then he suddenly realized he didn't have a shirt on. His face immediately went red as he looked down and saw he was also wearing John's sweatpants, which were at his knees because they were too big for him. He glanced at John to make sure he was still asleep, and then he flew into action, pulling the pants back up and scooting away from John. 

John murmured something in his sleep and Alex watched with anxiety as he shifted about. Alex's eyes grew larger as John leaned closer and reached in front of him, most likely searching for the warm body that was suddenly gone. Alex gulped and slid around John carefully, trying as much as he could to not make a sound. He heard John groan and whine in his sleep. Alex looked back at him to see that he was becoming more restless. He worried as John yawned and rubbed his eyes. He was awake! Alex looked around the room, saw his hoodie on the chair and darted for it. He pulled it on in one swift motion just as John's head turned towards him, eyes groggy with sleep and curly hair a giant mess behind him. 

John's eyes narrowed in confusion for a second. "Alex...?" he asked, voice raspy and hoarse, and god, Alexander didn't know why but that voice sounded good. Alex blushed red and scratched the back of his head, avoiding John's stare. 

"Yeah?" he asked, voice more high pitched than normal. 

"Are- are those my pants?" John asked. 

Alex glanced down. "Oh! Yes they are! Would ya look at that! I'll get them back to you soon? Ok, bye!" Alex said quickly before turning around, grabbing his shoes, and quickly walking out the door. He didn't even bother to put them on first. He heard John start to protest but his words were lost as soon as the door closed. Alex pulled his shoes on and then raced the fuck out of that dorm building and to his own back across campus. What the fuck was that all about?

Meanwhile, John stared confusedly at the closed door in front of him. Why was Alex acting so weird? He eventually remembered all the events of the previous night and decided Alex was probably just hangover and wanted to shower or something. 

Suddenly, he heard a snore from across the room. He turned to see Hercules sprawled out on his stomach in Lafayette's bed. John laughed out loud as he took the sight in, even one of Herc's legs was hanging off the bed. John stretched and got up, pulling his messy hair back into a ponytail. He waltzed over to Herc, grabbed the pillow from under his head, and then smacked him in the head with said pillow. He laughed as Hercules jerked awake, eyes wide with shock.

When Hercules noticed who had hit him he glared and snatched the pillow back. "Fuck you!" he said as he hit the cackling John with his pillow. 

"Sorry but you were drooling all over Laf's pillow and I don't think that's how you're supposed to charm someone," John replied, teasing in his voice. Hercules glared but then realized that he was sleeping in Lafayette's bed, and Lafayette was gone. 

"Where are they anyway?" Herc asked as he glanced around the tiny room. John shrugged. "Probably ran off after seeing their bedfellow had been drooling all over their pillow," John suggested. Hercules hit him with the pillow again which only made John laugh harder. 

"I'm going to the bathroom," Hercules grumbled unhappily as he got up from the bed. He did his best to fix the sheets and blankets and put the pillow back where it had been. 

"Second door on the left as you walk towards the stairs," John said as Herc slipped his shoes on and made his was out the door. He rubbed his sore head as he walked down the hallway to the bathrooms. You'd think living in a dorm building with tons of other students and having to share a washroom with two other men (and Laf) would be disgusting, but in all actuality, the bathrooms weren't horrible. 

Still, Hercules was grateful for his own bathroom in his tiny apartment which he only had to share with his older brother whom he had shared a bathroom with for years anyways. And this way he also got a bedroom to himself and a reasonably quiet place to do his homework. The only downside was he wasn't as close to his friends, even though his apartment was only about a five minute walk away. 

He reached the bathrooms and pushed open the door, then he stoped in his tracks when he saw who was there. 

Lafayette stood in the bathroom, back to him and facing the mirror. They were dripping wet and had a white towel wrapped around their waist, contrasting beautifully against their dark skin. Hercules blinked in surprise as his eyes traced Lafayette's back muscles, eyes darting from the top of their spine to the bottom. Their skin was glistening with drops of water which rolled down their back gracefully. Hercules noticed what he had already expected, that Laf's frame was small and that they had narrow shoulders, but he also noticed something that surprised him, which was how fucking jacked they were for having such a tall, thin frame. He saw how the fluorescent bathroom light bounced off their biceps and their back, casting dark shadows where their muscles were. 

Hercules was almost tempted to burst out and say something along the lines of, "HOTDAMN" but he held his tongue. From what Hercules could tell, they were pressed up close to the mirror and drying their hair with another towel. Hercules wanted to stop, to look away, to say something, but he couldn't move for some reason. So, he just watched as Lafayette dropped the towel he was holding onto the counter and felt his damp hair. Hercules noticed how long it was, it almost reached their shoulders, and then he realized he had never seen it down before. Then Lafayette pulled their hair back up into a lose bun, and Hercules was slightly sad to see it back up again. 

Then, to Hercules' horror, Lafayette turned around to face him. Their face lit up in surprise as their eyes fell on him. "H- Herc!" they yelped in surprise.

Hercules continued to stare helplessly, unable to say or do anything. He watched as Lafayette started to glow red and pick up the towel behind them on the counter, wrapping it around their shoulders sheepishly. 

"Uhh..." Hercules blinked dumbly. What the hell was wrong with him?!?! Lafayette shifted uncomfortably and bite their lip nervously, their blush deepening. 

"Sorry!" Herc finally blurted out. Lafayette looking up at them bewilderedly. "I- I just have to pee," Hercules admitted awkwardly, gesturing to the bathroom stalls. Lafayette's face lit up in understanding. "Of course! I will leave," they said, literally glowing red. 

Lafayette started to walk towards Hercules, then paused, then walked back to grab their clothes. They laughed and smiled nervously as they walked past Hercules. They were just about to the door when Herc asked, "you're not gonna change first?" 

Lafayette turned beet red, a look of pure horror and shock on their face. "Umm..." they started to say uncertainly. Hercules laughed suddenly. 

"I'll go into the stall, relax! I'm not a pervert," he said, humour in his words. The little joke cut some of the awkwardness and they laughed nervously. 

"Of course, thank you," they said. Hercules shrugged and then went into one of the stalls. Lafayette let out a breath once he was out of sight. They glanced around, just to make sure no one else was there, before dropping the towel wrapped around their shoulders. 

They quickly tugged their shirt on and then pulled on their underwear without dropping the towel around their waist. Then, like lightning, they pulled their pants on, towel falling off in their desperation to get dressed as quickly as possible. They let out a breath of relief once they were dressed and picked up their towels. Thank god that was over. Just then, they heard a toilet flush and Hercules came out of the stall to wash his hands. Hercules busied himself with washing his hands while Laf silently debated whether to leave or wait for him. Eventually, Herc spoke. 

"So... we slept together last night," he joked. Lafayette laughed, because that's what you do when someone tells a joke. 

"Yes, we did," they replied with a nod. God this was so awkward. Apparently Hercules also thought so because he said, "I'm sorry. I'm making this weird aren't I?" He turned to give Laf an apologetic smile. 

Lafayette shifted nervously, trying to find the right answer. In the end, they just laughed and nodded, saying, "yes. A small bit." 

Hercules leaned against the counter. He struggled to find the right words to say. 

"Well then, let's just put it behind us, shall we?" he said with a hopeful smile. Lafayette nodded vigorously. 

"Oui! That sounds good," they said with a laugh, obvious relief in their voice. Hercules pushed off from the counter and walked towards Laf. 

"Then it's forgotten! I gotta get back home, tell John I said "fuck you". Bye!" Hercules said as he walked past Laf and out the door. 

Lafayette stared at him quizzically as he left. "Bye?" they said in confusion, small smile lingering on their face. What the fuck was that all about? 

Lafayette spent the rest of the day studying and trying not to think about Hercules. John spent the rest of the day lying in bed, nursing his hangover, and definitely thinking about Alexander. Hercules spent the rest of the day sketching designs and finishing projects and DEFINITELY not thinking about Lafayette. And Alexander spent the rest of the day by delving into his work, trying to distract himself from any other thoughts over than his work. Especially thoughts about John. Or Eliza. Or anyone. Nope, just his work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> Alexandre arrêtes ce moment! Non... je m'en fiche! Elle veut te voir!... Ben si tu me donnes un moment pour m'expliquer!- Alexander stop right now! No... I don't care! She wants to see you!... Well if you give me a second to explain!
> 
> Merde- shit


	8. Chapter- you guessed it- 8!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexander Hamilton may be a genius and he may be the top of his class... but he's such a fucking moron. Does anyone else want to shove a sign that says "You have feelings for Thomas JUST ADMIT IT" into his face or is it just me? Anyways, he is stupid.
> 
> Meanwhile (Madison is grappling with the fact that not every issue can be settled by committee...) I'm not sorry for that. MEANWHILE, Angelica shows her true, evil masterminded self, and Laf is the only one who isn't stupid and John FINALLY admits his feelings... although it's to the wrong person... JESUS WHY CAN'T ANY OF THESE IDIOTS GET THEIR CRAP TOGETHER? Oh right... because I have this thing called a plot and I need to stick to it...
> 
> OK ENJOY THE CHAPTER!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! It's Monday! Ew. But also yay because I get to post another chapter! I'm like really excited for the next couple chapters because they are GREAT so let's get this one out of the way, shall we? Also, I'm sorry to any Lams shippers for causing you pain but... the tags do say jamilton so you can't really blame me.
> 
> ALSO, I just listened to the new hamildrop and if you haven't listened to it yet DO IT because it's SO GOOD. ok bye:) enjoy the chapter:)

Alex walked out of his classroom feeling lighter than air. He had just aced that midterm, and he knew it. It wasn't like it was hard, at least for Alex it wasn't, but it still felt amazing. He smiled brightly and walked down the hall, a slight skip in his step. And then, to his pleasant surprise, he saw Angelica and Eliza walking towards him, chatting up a storm as they usually were. 

"Angie! Liza! Over here!" he called to the sisters. They both paused their conversation and looked up. Eliza's face erupted into a bright smile whereas Angelica smiled kindly, but much less enthusiastically. Alex returned a huge smile and practically bounced over to them. Eliza instantly pulled him into a hug, and he reciprocated happily. 

"Hello, Alexander," Angelica said, sternly but sweetly, which somehow suited her. Alex released Eliza and went to hug Angelica. She stiffened but returned the hug anyways. Alex pulled away, not wanting to make her too uncomfortable. "You have no idea how happy I am right now! I just fucking aced-" he started but was then interrupted. 

"You just fucking aced what exactly?" Jefferson's cold voice drawled from behind him. Alex felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end and the muscles in his shoulders tensed. He grimaced and worked his jaw. Of course Jerfferson just had to come and destroy his happiness, because what else would he do? Alex was starting to think that was Jefferson's whole purpose on this Earth, to simple annoy him. 

Alex whipped around to glare at the infuriatingly tall asshole in front of him. "What do you want?" Alex spat the words out like they were venom. Jefferson's face contorted into a false expression of hurt, complete with fake puppy dog eyes. 

"Can't I just talk to a friend without any ulterior motive?" he asked, batting his eyelashes innocently. Alex balled his fists. It took all his strength not to pound Jefferson in the face right then and there. 

"Firstly, we're not friends," Alex seethed. "Secondly, get the fuck out of here," Alex took a threatening step towards Thomas, but he didn't budge. He merely smirked, looking quite satisfied with himself. Alex wanted to slap the grin off his face so badly. 

"Ahem!" Angelica cleared her throat behind him. Alex suddenly remembered the sisters were there and his face instantly turned to one of horror and embarrassment. He whipped around again. "Sorry-" 

"Care to introduce us to your friend, Alexander?" Angelica asked, cutting him off. Alex turned pink. He glanced at Eliza, who looked slightly shocked and confused, but still bore a smile. "Yes... please introduce us," she said uncertainly, as if she wasn't sure she wanted to be introduced to this man. And Alexander would completely understand why someone wouldn't want to meet Jefferson. 

Alex realized there was no way out of this and let out a sigh, trying with everything he had to control himself. "Angelica, Eliza... this is-" 

"Thomas Jefferson, pleasure to meet you ladies," Thomas interrupted him. Alex dropped his mouth open and turned a different shade of pink as Thomas reached to grab Eliza's hand, kissing it lightly. Eliza smiled and blushed. Alex was about ready to pounce on him. 

"Eliza Schuyler. I've heard a lot about you," she said, amused smile on her lips. Thomas looked surprised. "Really?" he asked as he blinked in surprise. Eliza and her sister shared a knowing look. Alex went pale. He knew what they were going to say. He tried to tell Eliza to stop by making the "cut it out" action with his hand but it didn't seem to work. 

"Oh yes," Eliza said, mischief in her tone, "Alexander's always talking about you." Alex felt nauseous with betrayal. How could she?!

"REALLY?" Thomas asked incredulously, wide grin on his face as he turned to look at Hamilton. He was clearly enjoying this. Alex scoffed and rolled his eyes, trying to act like he was screaming in his mind.

"She means I can't stop complaining about how your stupid voice gives me constant migraines," he snapped. Thomas didn't seem to care at all, the gradually widening grin on his face being any indication. 

"Awh, how sweet of you! And I'm constantly telling James about how insufferably loud and annoying you are," he said sweetly, obviously fake sincerity in his voice. Hamilton sneered and laughed sarcastically, he was just coming up with another snarky comeback when-

"AHEM," Angelica cleared her throat again. The two men turned their gaze to her, one of them amused beyond belief and the other one mad as hell. 

"I'm Angelica Schuyler, local Law student," she said, reaching out her hand. "Thomas," Jefferson said, taking her hand. Alex could tell he meant to raise her hand to his lips again but Angelica gripped his hand firmly and shook it instead. Alex smiled with pride and respect for Angelica. She wouldn't be charmed by Jefferson if her life depended on it. 

"Did you say Law student?" Thomas asked as he pulled his hand away, shaking it slightly. Angelica nodded. "Yes, I'm in Law school here at NYU," she replied, voice stern and professional. Thomas nodded, a gleam in his eye. "Do you know my friend, James Madison? He's also in the Law program," he asked. 

Angelica paused to think. Alex wanted to take the moment of silence to yell at Thomas to leave again, but somehow he restrained himself.

"Yes, I believe I do," she said finally. 'Ugh, moment's gone' Alex thought. Thomas smiled. "Interesting. Well, I should be going now," Thomas started. 

"Yes! Please do!" Alex nearly shouted. Thomas raised an eyebrow and sighed. Then he turned to Eliza and did something that made Alex's blood boil. 

"Your boyfriend doesn't seem to like me all that much," he sighed with a fake sad expression. Eliza laughed and shook her head. 

"He's not-" 

"She's not-" 

"We're not-" 

"Dating!" 

"Nope."

Alex and Eliza traded off lines. They looked at each other, clear embarrassment on both their faces. They both opened their mouths and fought for the right words to say, but both inevitably failed. 

Thomas raised an eyebrow curiously. "Oookaaaay," he said awkwardly, or rather, trying to break the awkwardness. Alex glared at him. "I'll be leaving now," Thomas said, pointing in the other direction. 

"That would be greatly appreciated, thanks," Hamilton spat. Thomas went to say something, but then thought better of it and closed his mouth. "Well, it was a pleasure meeting you two," he said decidedly, nodding at Eliza and Angelica who smiled in return. He turned to Alex who was nearly shaking. "See you later... Hamilton," Thomas said with a sigh of disappointment. Alex glared. 

"Not looking forward to it," he sneered. Thomas smiled and shrugged. "You know you'll miss me," he said with a wink before walking off, managing to get the last word. 

Alex grunting in frustration, which was him restraining himself because really, he wanted to SCREAM. He turned back around to the sisters who were giggling to each other. 

"What's so funny!" Alex hissed at them, face red. "N-nothing!" Eliza snickered as she tried to compose herself. Alex crossed his arms and tapped his foot angrily. "What!" he demanded as the sisters continued to snicker. 

"So that was the famous Thomas Jefferson?" a familiar voice said from behind Alex. He jumped in surprise and whirled around to see who was there, even though he already knew. John was there, as guessed from the voice, and so was Hercules. They both had the same grin as the sisters shared. Alex wanted to scream. 

"How long were you guys here for?" he asked in surprise. John shrugged and replied cheekily, "Long enough to watch you squirm under that man's stare!" 

Alex recoiled, confusion on his face. "What?" he asked, he was more than lost now. Herc and John shared a look, the same look the sisters had shared earlier! 

"It's ok buddy," Herc said as he clamped a strong hand on Alex's shoulder. "Anyone would get flustered if a man like Thomas Jefferson was giving them that much attention," he said with a laugh. Alex's face contorted in disgust and confusion. 

"What the fuck are you guys getting at?" Alex asked warily. He could hear Eliza and Angelica giggle behind him. John crossed his arms, looking in thought about something. "You know, I wasn't expecting him to be so hot," John said, glancing at Alex to see his reaction. 

Alex scoffed and felt himself glow red. "He's not... hot..." he said, although there was less disgust and repulsion in his voice than he'd expected there to be. Why wasn't he repulsed by the fact that his best friend was insinuating that his worst enemy was hot? He struggled to find the words to tell John how ridiculous he was being, and the giggling coming from behind him wasn't helping. He turned back to Eliza and Angelica who were doing their best to hide their laughter, covering their mouths and holding their breath so their faces were turning red. 

"Stop that!" Alex snapped at them, which only made them laugh harder. Then Hercules and John joined in and Alex had had enough. 

"I hate all of you," he huffed angrily, crossing his arms. "C'mon 'Lex! You gotta admit it, he's hot as fuck," Hercules smirked. Alex felt himself go redder. He paused to consider it. It wasn't like he hadn't already noticed it... Thomas was kind of handsome... Alex wouldn't go as far as to say hot but he couldn't deny that he was good looking. It probably had something to do with his height and his hair and his eyes... 

"Ok, fine. So the worst person ever has been blessed with good facial features," Alex admitted angrily. 

"And a nice body," John muttered under his breath, snickering as he did. Alex felt his face light up in what was probably fire engine red.

"But that doesn't mean I don't hate him! You can be hot and still be an asshole! In fact, it's even worse in this case because he knows he's hot which only inflates his already ultra huge ego!" Alex protested. The group couldn't keep it in anymore. They all burst out laughing, Angelica even had to clutch her sides from laughing so hard. Alex groaned and dragged his hands down his face. 

"You guys are the worst," he muttered. 

"But you admitted Jefferson's hot!" John howled, doubling over from the laughter. 

"Ok, goodbye!" Alex yelled angrily as he started to stalk off in frustration. "Awh! We're only joking 'Lex!" John called after him. Alex scoffed and kept walking. He could still hear them laughing from about 30 feet away. He walked all the way back to his dorm building, muttering angrily to himself. How could his friends be so stupid! They knew how much he hated Thomas, he only complained about him 24/7! And why did he have to go and say that he thought Thomas was hot! He definitely didn't. Thomas Jefferson was a stupid arrogant asshole who was definitely not hot! And to even think for a second that he was- Alex wanted to go back in time and slap himself. Thomas Jefferson was not hot. Or good looking, or handsome. He was just an asshole. 

And Alex firmly believed that. So then why did he have to say that earlier? Why did he start to think about Thomas' poofy black hair and how nicely it suited him, even if it was basically an Afro. And why did he think about Thomas' smile... or rather his smirk, and how good it looked on him, even if it was infuriating. And why did he think of Thomas' eyes? His dark eyes with long lashes, and the way one of his eyebrows popped up when he smirked. And why was he suddenly thinking about John's words: "And a nice body."? Why was he suddenly thinking about Thomas' tall and toned physique? His muscular arms? His tight jeans... 

Alex felt himself go red again. He stopped dead in his tracks, a couple feet away from his dorm room. Holy shit. Why was he thinking so much about this? And why couldn't he stop. He ran his hands through his hair.

Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit. No no no no no no no! This wasn't happening. 

He'd always sort of known he liked boys as well as girls but he'd never really admitted it to himself. And now... was he attracted to Thomas Jefferson?! He covered his mouth with his hand in horror. Impossible! No... there had to be a reasonable explanation! There was no way...

'He IS pretty hot' a voice in his head said suddenly. 

'No he isn't. He's impossible!' Alex told the voice. 

'Impossibly hot' the voice replied. Alex shook his head. 

"No." he said firmly. He wasn't attracted to Thomas. He suddenly realized that this was probably just him realizing his sexuality, after a long time of repressing it, and suddenly becoming attracted to other men, even if those men were people he hated. Yes, Alex was bisexual. No, he didn't have a crush on Thomas. He was just exploring his new found sexuality. Yes, that had to be it. He nodded, satisfied with his explanation and went to open his dorm room door. Once inside, he collapsed onto his bed. The last thing he remembered thinking about before he drifted off to sleep was Thomas' cute little smirk. 

\----

"I do not believe it!" Laf shrieked, laughing so hard their sides hurt. 

"It's true! Alex was all red and flustered! It was hilarious!" Herc insisted, laughing along. 

"It wasn't that funny," John muttered while tapping his fingers on the table they were all seated at. 

"Are you kidding!? It was the best thing I've ever seen!" Angelica laughed. Eliza put a hand on her sister's arm and leaned in close to her. 

"And she doesn't laugh very often," she said, gesturing to her sister. Angelica rolled her eyes and grinned. "That's not true," she said with a shake of her head. Eliza quirked an eyebrow and looked at her pointedly. She sighed. 

"Ok fine! But it really was funny to see him like that. You should have seen his face Laf!" she said, snickering as she did. 

Lafayette smiled and said, "it does sound very funny." They continued to smile as the others went on talking about Alex and Thomas but they didn't seem to actually find it that funny. They weren't sure why but they had a feeling it had something to do with the way John was acting. He appeared to be irritated with the others and upset about what they were talking about, which was Alex and Thomas. Laf kept stealing looks at the freckled boy, noticing hints of sadness in his eyes. Lafayette wondered what was bothering him. Although they did have a few guesses, they didn't want to make assumptions that were solely based on a couple observations. Still, John looked upset and it was making Lafayette upset as well. 

"Hey! That reminds me!" Eliza said suddenly, pulling Laf back into their conversation. Eliza shared a look with her sister and then Angelica smiled and nodded to Eliza as if giving her permission to say what she was going to say next. Eliza beamed and turned back to the rest of the group. 

"I'm- WE'RE," Eliza corrected herself, linking arms with Angelica, "throwing a little get together at our house this Friday and it would mean the world if you all would come!" She smiled widely and clung to her sister, causing Angelica to wince with pain but still manage to keep a smile. Herc and John shared a look and then they both shared the same look with Laf. 

"We would love to come!" Laf said for all of them. Eliza squealed happily and clapped her hands together, releasing a grateful Angelica. 

"That's so great! Yay! Ok, I also need to invite Alexander and I think a couple of Peggy's friends are coming..." Eliza trailed off, obviously getting lost in thought as she counted off people on her fingers. John squirmed at the mention of Alex, which branched off a new theory in Laf's head. Suddenly, Hercules burst out laughing. 

"What is it?" Eliza asked, concerned something was wrong. Hercules shook his head and held up a hand to give himself a minute to calm down before speaking. "I was just thinking how funny it would be if you invited Jefferson!" he said through fits of laughter. 

Eliza gasped and smiled wildly, an idea lighting up in her eyes. Angelica smiled too and stifled a laugh. Laf didn't show any emotions, they just glanced worriedly at John. A dark look was cast on his face and he was fiddling with his hands uncomfortably. 

"Ok, but how would we do that? We only just met him, it would be weird to suddenly invite him to a party," Eliza said reasonably. 

"Oh that's true," Herc said with disappointment. They both frowned and went back to thinking. Lafayette wanted to breath a sigh of relief, not for them but for John, who still looked more than a little upset. At least now he wouldn't have to go to a party with Alex and Thomas, a subject he wasn't even comfortable listening to people have a conversation about. 

"Well..." Angelica said suddenly, a look on her face that could only be described as mischievous. 

"What are you thinking, Angie?" Eliza asked incredulously, obviously noticing the out-of-character look on her sisters face. Angelica smiled slyly. 

"I DO know Thomas' friend, James. And I also know he doesn't like parties. However, if I invited him AND Thomas while Thomas was there..." she explained, trailing off at the end as of to insinuate something. Eliza's face lit up with understanding and a smile. 

"Then Thomas would make him say yes! And he would go because James would make him come with him! Oh my god Angelica that's genius!" Eliza squealed with delight. 

Angelica laughed and did a little bow. "Thank you, yes, I know I'm an evil mastermind," she said jokingly. "I think you've been spending too much time with Peggy," Eliza remarked, a smirk on her face. Angelica laughed, almost diabolically. "Or maybe it's just my true nature," she joked. "I seriously doubt that," Eliza said. They shared a laugh, one which only sisters can share. 

"This is perfect! Ask them as soon as you can!" Hercules said. "Oh! We need a name, let's give it a name!" Eliza said excitedly.

"How about... operation Jamilton!" Hercules suggested. The group looked at him oddly. "You know... Hamilton and Jefferson," he clarified. "Ohhh," the group said collectively.

"Oh my god! So it's their ship name!" Eliza said. Hercules laughed and said, "Yeah, I guess it is!" 

Lafayette smiled as the others laughed and plotted but they couldn't manage more than that, not while John was looking so upset. He seemed more or less like a hurt puppy, left forgotten outside in the rain. Lafayette sort of wanted to slap their friends for being so oblivious and inconsiderate to John's feelings. They shifted their gaze to Hercules, hoping to communicate this with him through their expression. But it was no use. Hercules was too busy plotting with the sisters. Lafayette sighed. They decided they'd talk with John later, in private. They just hoped he'd be alright until then. 

\-----

Later that night, after John and Laf had both gone to bed, Lafayette thought back to the conversation earlier that day and decided now was as good a time as any to ask John about what they noticed earlier.

"John..." Laf whispered from their bed. There was no answer. Lafayette turned on their side to peer at John through the darkness. There was no movement from his bed so Laf thought he might already be asleep. Still, the decided to try again. 

"John?" they called, a little louder this time. 

"Hmm?" hummed the half-awake John. Laf sighed and decided to just bite the bullet and get it over with. 

"I need to talk to you," they said, sitting up. "Ugh, what is it?" John groaned, obviously annoyed at being woken up. Laf took a breath. Here goes nothing.

"I know how you feel towards Alexander," they whispered. There was no answer at first, just the sound of deep breathing. 

"W- what do you mean?" John stammered, suddenly sounding completely awake. Lafayette sighed. 

"You do not have to play dumb with me. I know you have feelings for him, you can tell every time you are around him," Lafayette said. John let out a deep, shaky breath, as if he'd been holding his breath the whole time. There was no point in denying it then. 

"Yeah, ok you caught me. Whatever," John muttered angrily. He wasn't actually angry at Laf, just maybe at himself for falling so helplessly for someone he couldn't have. 

"John..." Laf said sympathetically. They wanted to say something to make him feel better but they didn't know what to say. John felt so stupid. And humiliated. And sad. There was a long pause of silence between the two friends. 

"I am telling Angelica to stop this idiot plan of theirs," Laf said suddenly. John shot up in his bed. 

"No, you don't have to-" 

"It is not fair for them to do that to you!" Laf interrupted him. 

"Well they don't know about... that. So of course they can! They can do whatever they want," John replied. Laf struggled to find the right words. They knew John wasn't ok with "the plan" but they also didn't want to hurt him more by saying the wrong thing.

John groaned and flopped back down on his bed, dragging his hands down his face. 

"It fucking sucks, sure, but I can't tell them to do anything. It's Alexander's business, not mine. And it's not like I can ever tell him so..." John trailed off, leaving Laf to figure out the rest by themselves, which they did. They stared sadly at their friend. 

"I won't say anything if you don't want me to," they whispered. John contemplated this for a moment, letting the silence fill the small room once more. 

"No," he said finally, "you can if you want. They'll find out eventually. Just don't make me sound as pathetic as I am." John's voice was so small as he said this, obvious hurt lining his words. Laf's heart sank as they heard these words. John sounded like he'd already given up hope. 

"Ok," Laf breathed. There was another long silence before John spoke. 

"How'd you know anyways?" he asked, sounding almost as vulnerable as he felt. 

"I'm very observant," Laf replied, their voice monotone as if they were just stating a boring fact. John scoffed, humoured by the irony. 

"What?" Laf asked. 

"Nothing. Good night," he replied. 

"... goodnight..." Laf responded uncertainly. 

John would tell them how it was ironic how they picked up on his feelings but could still be completely oblivious to a certain someone else's feelings... towards them, but he said nothing. He wanted Laf to figure that one out for themselves. 

"John?" Laf spoke again, earning another groan from John, who just wanted to sleep and forget about everything.

"What?" he asked, trying to keep the apprehension out of his voice because it wasn't fair to Laf for him to take out his frustration on them.

Lafayette didn't reply at first, and John wondered if they had fallen asleep before they could even ask it, but he was proven wrong when he heard them ask an earth shattering question John hadn't even thought about.

"Do you love him?" they whispered.

John laid still, staring up at the ceiling. Did he love Alexander? Part of him thought about how bizarre of a question that was while the other part of him screamed: of course you're in love with him you idiot!

But was he in love? How do you even know if you're in love? Maybe this could just be a small, fleeting crush. Maybe John would wake up tomorrow with no feelings towards Alexander at all. Maybe this pain was temporary.

But the he thought of Alexander. He thought of his eyes, his smile, his over-eagerness, his non-stop work ethic, his determination, his brilliance, his small body constantly shaking from too much caffeine. He thought of the night he spent in the same bed as Alexander not too long ago, the way his heart soared when Alex flopped over in his sleep and ended up curled up beside him. He thought of how he could listen to Alex talk about anything for however long he wanted and he would still be listening intently because everything he said was amazing. And everything he did was amazing. And everything he was was amazing.

John didn't want to admit it, because that would make things so much more real, so much more unbearable, but he couldn't deny it anymore either. Because he realized, then and there, that he was indeed in love. He was in love with his best friend, and he could never tell him. But he could tell Laf.

"Yeah," he whispered finally, not even sure if Laf could hear him.

"Yeah, I do."


	9. Chapitre neuf (in French this time cause my chapter titles are boring)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's may but I'm writing a Halloween themed chapter...
> 
> Anyways, this is the chapter with PART OF the Halloween party in it. I say part of because it's kind of like a two part chapter, the party continues in the next chapter. 
> 
> It's a Halloween party so of course everyone is wearing costumes (I did my best to describe everyone's costume) and they get pretty crazy and play... wait for it... truth or dare. Ya. They seem pretty lame but kinda cool at the same time. Idk what I'm saying anymore. I'm really bad at summaries nnnghh I'm sorry:,)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My favourite part of this chapter is when they argue about whether pineapple should be on pizza. I feel like it's a very heated argument these days. Anyways, just thought I'd mention it;)

"Ha! Nice argument, Jefferson! Who taught you that one? A fifth grader?" Hamilton taunted. 

Thomas fumed. He was so angry he thought he might just explode into a burst of flames. And to make matters worse, it was only 7:40am and he had already dealt with Hamilton's pointless ranting for half an hour. It was like Hamilton thought he was the only one up at the debate podium, as if he didn't actually have an opponent who needed to counter argue his arguments. Nope, according to Hamilton he was the only one there and he was the only voice that mattered and he was right about everything. Thomas huffed angrily and gripped the edges of his podium.

"For the last time, Hamilton," Thomas seethed, "this isn't a serious debate." Thomas said his words slowly and enunciated each syllable to get his point clearly across because Hamilton didn't seem to understand him, judging by the fact that he had already said this three times. Hamilton crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. 

"Well it's practice for a serious debate!" he shot back. Thomas worked his jaw and massaged his temples. That was also the third time he'd said that. 

"And besides," Hamilton added, "I don't think the rest of the debate team thinks this is a waste of time. Do you?" Hamilton looked at the other seven students in the chairs in front of them. They all shook their heads silently, looking more than a little intimidated by Hamilton's glare. 

"Well, forgive me if I don't find arguing about whether pineapple should be on pizza very amusing. Especially when it's with you," Thomas drawled, spitting out the last word as he glared at Hamilton, who only batted his eyelashes innocently in return. "What's there to argue about? As I said before, pineapple on pizza is pure genius and it's the only way it should be eaten," Alex replied smoothly. Thomas slammed his hands on he podium.

"And as I said before, it's utterly disgusting! I mean fruit on pizza? Who in their right mind thought that was a good idea!" Thomas exclaimed angrily. He saw a couple people in the circle nod along with his words and he felt a small wave of pride wash over him. 

"Ha! Says the guy who eats macaroni and cheese every single fucking day!" Hamilton replied, practically screaming at him. Thomas smiled and laughed at this. And much to his surprise, it was a real genuine laugh. The sleep deprivation must have been getting to him more than he had thought...

"Ok, don't diss mac 'n' cheese. Just don't. You'll only look like a fool- well more of a fool than you already are," Thomas replied. Hamilton glared and muttered something under his breath which Thomas couldn't make out, but he didn't care. It was his turn to talk now.

"And furthermore, I rest my case. Fruit on pizza is revolting and we shouldn't legally be allowed to consume it," he finished triumphantly. He smirked at Hamilton, looking at him with an expression that said: "try and top that!". Then, something in Hamilton's eyes lit up. 

"Aren't tomatoes a fruit?" he asked, looking into the crowd for support. Almost everyone nodded. Thomas frowned. What was Hamilton getting at?

"And aren't tomatoes used as one of the main ingredients for pizza? Like, for example, in the sauce?" he asked, again looking at the five people who nodded before, and who nodded again. Thomas' face fell as he realized what point Hamilton was trying to make.

"So then that means..." Hamilton trailed, leaving a pause in his words for dramatic effect. He turned around to grin wickedly at Thomas, who returned it with a flat and annoyed expression. Why was Hamilton always so damn dramatic? 

"Fruit is and was always meant to be on pizza!" he finished with a smirk. He turned back to Thomas and pouted his lip in false pity.

"Awh! Looks like I just threw your argument in the trash! Better go join it in there! Get it? Cause you're trash!"

"I get the joke Hamilton!" Thomas yelled at him, cutting him off at the end. Hamilton smiled, obviously pleased with the reaction he pulled out of Thomas. Thomas bit the inside of his cheek in frustration and gripped the podium so hard his knuckles turned pale. Why was Hamilton so constantly infuriating? Why couldn't he just once let Thomas make it through one of these debates without tempting him to commit murder. Because at this point Thomas was seriously considering that option. Jail couldn't possibly be that bad... and plus he could always meet a hot bad boy in prison. 

"Whatever, Hamilton. You win. I'm done," Thomas sighed as he walked away from the podium and slumped into a chair. Hamilton smirked triumphantly. 

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen," he said as he bowed dramatically. A couple people clapped but instantly stopped when Thomas shot them a glare. He was just so done with this stupid debate team and these stupid early mornings and that stupid Alexander Hamilton. Speaking of the devil, Hamilton was now shuffling papers and going off on a rant about how the debates should be organized from now on. Thomas groaned. Of course Hamilton had to go and become the debate team captain, because who else would boss others around with such intensity? 

Thomas stood up and started to walk to the door. "Umm, where do you think you're going?" Hamilton spat, venom in his voice. Thomas waved over his shoulder and said, "it's 8 now so we're done here." dismissively. Alex gaped at him. 

"You can't- it's only 7:53! And we have class after anyways and- where are you going!?" Alex yelled after him, but Thomas didn't listen. He opened the door, waved goodbye to the glowering Hamilton and walked out the door, slamming it behind him. And even though it was closed, he swore he could still here Hamilton's incessant protesting from behind the door. Thomas didn't care. All he wanted to do at the moment was go take a nap. And he was on his way to do just that.

Or, at least he was until he ran into James. 

"Hey! What are you doing up so early?" Thomas asked as he caught up with his best friend. James blinked at him in surprise, he hadn't noticed Thomas come up from behind him. 

"Oh... well looking for you actually," James said. Thomas quirked an eyebrow questioningly, gesturing for James to elaborate. "Umm... I need your help," James said uncomfortably. 

"With what?" Thomas asked bewilderedly. James almost never asked for his help. This must be huge. "Well..." James said hesitantly, fiddling his thumbs nervously. "Just spit it out!" Thomas exclaimed impatiently. James took a breath.

"I think Angelica Schuyler just invited me to a Halloween party at her house... this Friday..." James confessed, although he sounded unsure of himself. Thomas' mouth dropped open. He was shocked. And then he was impressed and proud of his friend and smiled widely.

"James! That's so great!" Thomas said excitedly. James looked at him warily. "I dunno... I don't think I'm going to go..." he replied slowly. Thomas frowned and crossed his arms, unimpressed expression across his face. "You're going," he said with finality. But James still didn't look too sure. Thomas grabbed his friend by the shoulders and shook him lightly.

"You're going and that's final!" he told a bewildered James. 

"But I-" 

"No buts!" Thomas said sternly. James frowned and almost pouted at Thomas, but Thomas knew him well enough to know James never pouts. 

"Fine." James said flatly. Thomas' face erupted with a smile. 

"Yes! That's my-" 

"but you're coming with me. There's no way in hell I'm doing this alone," James cut him off. Thomas smiled wider. 

"I was coming with you anyway," he replied smugly. James laughed lightly and then let out a groan of frustration.

"I just don't want to go! You know I hate parties," he complained as they started walking back the way Thomas had came. 

"But it'll be so much fun! And Angelica invited you! It would be rude not to go," he said reasonably, trying to convince James that this was a good thing. James sighed deeply. 

"But it's a Halloween party!" he whined. Thomas' eyes lit up at the mention of that. "Really? So like, do we wear costumes or...?" he asked, obvious excitement in his voice. James shot him a glare. 

"Please tell me you're not going to dress up," he said flatly. Thomas smirked but said nothing. 

"Thomas," James warned. 

"Well only if other people are wearing costumes," he replied, earning another groan from his friend. 

Just then, someone bumped into Thomas' shoulder as they walked past, causing him to stumble into James. He blinked in shock and scrambled to steady himself, and then he whipped around to see who had run into him. Behind him was a fairly ticked off Hamilton, staring at him angrily, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently. Thomas felt the frustration from earlier this morning creep back under his skin as he glared back at the small Caribbean. 

"I assume you did that on purpose," Thomas drawled, voice thick with disdain. Hamilton just sneered and rolled his eyes. 

"Don't expect an apology," he snapped. Thomas scoffed. 

"Wouldn't dream of it," he snarled back nastily. 

They continued their stare-off for another minute before Thomas finally scoffed in disgust and turned away, grabbing James by the arm and rushing away. 

"You know you can't keep running from me Jefferson!" Hamilton called after him. 

"Watch me!" Thomas called back, quickening his pace. He could make out James' complaints from beside him but he didn't care, he just had to get away from that horrible man. Alex, on the other hand, wanted to run after him and keep yelling, keep telling him off for being so rude and ignorant and assholish. Alex knew that wasn't a word but he didn't give a fuck. He figured if anything, it should be a new word, it's only definition being: Thomas Jefferson. 

He turned on his heels and walked back to class, since it was about to start. He slumped down in his usual spot and waited for class to start. It did eventually, but something didn't seem right. He looked to his left to see that Thomas wasn't in his spot, in fact he wasn't in class at all! Hamilton scoffed. So the asshole was skipping class just to get away from him now? How pathetic. Alex rolled his eyes and figured that this was exactly the kind of thing Thomas did. It seemed whenever Alex got too far under his skin, he completely vanishes for the rest of the day. Alex suddenly wondered if maybe he was being too hard on him...

No, that was crazy! He hated Thomas! I mean sure, he had had a slight revelation the previous day but that hardly had anything to do with Thomas. And he had spent the rest of that day and all this morning trying to crush the horrifying thought that he was attracted to this tall, pompous asshole. And while it was fun to completely destroy him during the debate that morning, it didn't mean he liked Thomas. It just meant he liked humiliating Thomas, which actually went to show how much he hated him. He wanted to embarrass Thomas, wanted to make him feel as small as he made Alex feel. 

But still he couldn't escape the storm of thoughts swirling in his mind, all about Thomas. He was starting to get frustrated with how much energy it took him just to try and stop himself from thinking about him. But fortunately, something took his mind off of Thomas for him. He heard his phone buzz from inside his bag suddenly. He looked up, making sure professor Washington wasn't looking, before grabbing his phone and turning it on. He saw he had a text message from Angelica and immediately curiosity grew inside him. He opened the message and read it quickly, so as to minimize the time Washington could potentially catch him on his phone during class.

From: Angelicaaaaa

Hey! Eliza and I just wanted to invite you to our Halloween party this Friday night! It's at our house, I assume you already have the address;) Oh! And wear a costume. I MEAN IT! 

Alex smiled and chuckled to himself as he read the message. Angelica seemed so different through text than she did in person. Her strong, intimidating personality gone and in it's spot, a more laid back and reasonably fun person. Not that Alex didn't like her confidence, it suited her nicely, he just thought she could be a little too uptight sometimes. 'Hopefully,' he thought, 'I can change that at this party on Friday...'

To: Angelicaaaaa

I'll be there, but I am NOT wearing a costume. 

From: Angelicaaaaa

It is because I know you so well that I knew you wouldn't agree to a costume, that is why I had Eliza pick one out for you already. And let me tell you, it's frigging adorable. So either you come with your own costume or you wear the one my sweet sister has chosen for you. The choice is yours;)

To: Angelicaaaaa

Oh, my dearest Angelica, you have played well. I'll bring a costume>:(

From: Angelicaaaaa

That's what I like to hear. I'll see you Friday:D

To: Angelicaaaaa

Of course. 

Alex turned off his phone and slid it back into his bag as discretely as he could. Once he had done so, he made a point of returning to the lesson and actually tying to listen, even though he already knew everything Washington was saying. He was months ahead on the work, he could probably even write the final exam the next day and pass with a decent grade. But still, he enjoyed the class and he wasn't about to start slacking now, not when he'd fought so hard to get here. So, he listened to Washington's every word and jotted down notes here and there, allowing himself to be completely sucked into the man's genius. If only Thomas were there to listen to the professor's brilliant speech. 

\-----

It was Friday. It was the day John had been dreading all week. It was here. And not only was it here, it was almost gone. Meaning that the day was almost over. Meaning that the party was soon to start. Meaning that John's own personal hell was awaiting him on the other side of that door. What was John's own personal hell? It was something like watching the man you've had this huge crush on all semester go toe to toe with another man, an incredibly good looking man. A man your crush swears he hates, but you can tell that's just not true. Or at least it's the kind of hate you love to have. Alexander probably loves to hate Thomas. Loves to argue with him, loves to insult him. 

Love him though, that was an idea that made John nauseous. And although he knew that would never be true, he still couldn't help but feel worried. He tried to reason with himself to try and calm his nerves. 

'Alex would never fall for someone like Thomas, he hates him too much. Even if it is the kind of hate people love to hate. And besides, Alex is straight!! We've been through this Laurens! That's why you can't say anything to him. He'll get weirded out and then your friendship will be ruined forever. And despite the temptation being so great, the stakes are too high and the loss would be too great.'

'But... he could be bisexual... you never know,' a small voice pipped up from inside his head. He shook his head at this voice. 

'No, I don't think so,' he told the voice. 

'One two three four, open up the closet door! Five six seven eight, don't assume your friends are straight!' the voice sang merrily, almost tauntingly. 

John laughed at the little rhyme he remembered seeing on a pro-LGBTQ Instagram page. And then he realized the annoying little voice was right. He couldn't assume Alex was straight, he'd be a total hypocrite if he did that, since he was sick of others assuming he was straight himself. And even though the crush on Eliza could have him pegged for being straight, there were still other ways he couldn't be straight. Bisexuality, pansexuality, the fact that maybe Alex just wasn't ready to come out as gay yet...

Ok, now John had taken it too far. He forced himself to stop before he got his hopes up. Yes, he couldn't assume Alex was straight, but he could also never tell him about his feelings because it would still threaten to ruin their friendship. So, with a deep breath, he decided to just get this horrible night over with. He raised his hand and knocked on the Schuyler's huge door. Their house was more of a mansion, although John was used to it, since he lived in a mansion himself for most of his life, even if it did feel more like a prison at times. He heard his knock echo around the huge entrance area around the door, bouncing off the white walls and the high arch above him.

He heard someone yell, "COMING!" from inside the home. Then he heard loud footsteps as someone ran to the door. In an instant, the door flew open and behind it stood a beaming Peggy Schuyler, curly hair a bushy mess around her face. 

"John Laurens! It's about time! Practically everybody's here! Come in!" Peggy squealed as she dragged John in by the arm. He opened his mouth to protest but was cut off as pain sprouted in his arm as Peggy tugged on it. Damn, she was a lot stronger than she looked. She pulled him in and slammed the door shut behind him, causing him to jump. 

"Heyy, Pegs!" he said happily, putting on a smile. She grinned at him wildly, pupils blown wide. Of course she was already drunk. John grinned back, chuckling at her crazy antics. 

"So! What are you supposed to be?!" she asked, gesturing at his costume. John quirked an eyebrow. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked, gesturing at his green t-shirt and blue bandana (which he stole from Herc). Peggy looked at him with a blank and confused expression. She shook her head. John sighed. 

"I'm Leonardo!" he said, his tone suggesting that this was an obvious fact. Peggy continued to stare at him with the same expression.

"You're kidding? The teenage mutant ninja turtle? From the incredible movie franchise, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?" he explained incredulously. Peggy's face lit up with comprehension and she let out a long, "Ohhhh!" 

"Yeah," she said, "I don't watch those movies. I'm too pretty." And with that, she winked and flashed him a dazzling smile. John laughed. 

"Haha, funny. And what are you supposed to be?" John asked her. She rolled her eyes and said, "Like you don't know!" John did know. He'd know that silver tiara and that yellow dress anywhere, even if Peggy was wearing a shorter version of it. She smiled and spun around in a circle, the yellow ruffles on the skirt poofing outwards as she did. She looked at him expectantly but John kept playing the oblivious card. She sighed dramatically.

"I'm Belle, you doof!" she said, annoyance in her voice. 

"Belle who?" John asked, laughing as she gave him another frustrated look. 

"The Disney Princess- oh forget it!" she cried, throwing her arms up in frustration. She turned on her heels and stomped away, leaving the snickering John in the hallway. 

"Wait! I'm sorry Pegs!" he called after her, following her into the house and closer to the music and chatter that was growing louder and louder. Peggy skipped into the large living room and shouted something about John being there. John followed behind her and entered the huge room. There he could see all his friends and a few people he didn't know. He also took note of who he did not see, Thomas Jefferson or James Madison. Thank God.

"Hey! What took you so long!" Hercules called out, motioning for him to join him and their other friends. John walked up to his three other friends. They were wearing matching costumes of course. All of them sporting a green t-shirt and different coloured bandanas. Laf in purple for Donatello, Herc in red for Raphael, and Alex in orange for Michelangelo, which he wasn't very happy with. Of course Alex wanted to be Raphael, but his friends made him be Michelangelo just to annoy him. He was even looking the part, arms crossed and an annoyed expression on his face, muttering something under his breath about "with friends like these who needs enemies." 

"Sorry I took so long, I had to finish that paper," John apologized once he got to his friends. 

"It is no problem!" Laf said, huge smile on their face, "You just need to catch up, yes?" There was a mischievous gleam in Laf's eye when they said this. John laughed. 

"How far behind am I?" he asked, a little scared to know the answer. 

"Well," Alex pipped up, "that depends. If you're Herc, about a three shots and a beer. If you're Laf, about half a beer. And if you're me, nothing because you're trying to keep Herc under control!" Herc laughed at this and shoved Alex lightly. "Shut up man!" he joked. John laughed along with his friends, entirely enjoying the already drunken state of Hercules. 

"Well then, I guess I'll go get a beer," he said. "Don't forget to say hi to the sisters, they'll never forgive you if you don't!" Alex called as John started to walk away. He nodded and waved back to him as his answer. 

He started to walk around, looking for Angelica and Eliza. He took in the massive room, complete with famous pieces of art and expensive looking furniture. He was genuinely surprised the sisters' parents let them throw a party, even if there were only fifteen or so people there. John realized it wasn't as much of a party as it was just their friends getting together. And getting drunk. Definitely getting drunk.

It didn't take John too long to locate the sisters, they were all gathered around the kitchen table talking and giggling in hushed voices. He noticed that Angelica and Eliza were wearing similar costumes to Peggy. Eliza was in a blue sparkling dress with a poofy skirt that ended a little above her knees. Her hair was in a neat bun on the top of her head and there was a silver tiara placed there too. Angelica wore a tight pink dress with long sleeves and a white belt around her waist. Her hair was in it's usual curly state, a matching tiara pulling it back away from her face. If John had to guess he'd say Eliza was Cinderella and Angelica was Sleeping Beauty or Aurora or whatever her name was. 

"Hey," John said, startling all three of them. "John! Glad you could make it!" Eliza said happily. 

"Even if it was half an hour late," Angelica scolded. John laughed and put up his arms in defence. "Hey! Take that up with my prof!" he said. Angelica smiled in return. 

"Would you like something to drink?" Eliza offered kindly, walking up to the fridge. "A beer would be great, thanks," he replied. Soon, there was a cold glass bottle being pressed into his hands. He took a drink of it gratefully. 

"So are we doing this or not?" Peggy asked suddenly, grabbing her sisters and John's attention. John looked between the three of them curiously. 

"Doing what?" he asked. Angelica opened her mouth but Eliza grabbed her arm to stop her. John started to grow wary. "It doesn't matter right now, they aren't even here yet!" Eliza whispered, although it was still plenty loud enough for John to hear. 

"Relax, guys. You can talk about Jefferson in front of me. I'm not gonna get mad and like start breaking things!" John said dryly. Eliza gave him a worried glance and sighed. 

"Sorry. It's just, Laf told us about the talk you guys had... we weren't sure if we should still go through with our plan, but of course we couldn't disinvite James and Thomas," she explained. John shook his head, feeling slightly betrayed by his friend. Did everyone know about his embarrassing feelings now? 

"No, it's fine. I'm cool. Go through with the plan," he said, trying his best to sound sincere. The sisters still didn't look convinced. 'Jeez, girls can see right through you,' John thought. He rolled his eyes and turned around to walk back to the living room. 

"Do whatever! Seriously. Just make sure you embarrass him HARD!" he called as he exited the kitchen. He heard the sisters giggle and go back to their plotting. Soon, he was back with his friends, teasing Alex, drinking with Herc, and laughing with Lafayette. For the next couple of minutes, everything felt fine. Then he heard the doorbell go off and the dread washed over him, threatening to drown him. 

"I'll get it!" Peggy called as she raced to the door. "Alex, come with me!" she said excitedly, grabbing a surprised Alexander by the arm and dragging him away. 

"Oh- ok! Slow down Pegs!" he yelped as he was dragged off. John tried not to feel completely helpless as he watched Alex being pulled away from him. This night was about to get a whole lot worse. At least for John.

\-----

Alex was curiously surprised when Peggy pulled him to the door, and even more surprised when Herc, Eliza and Angelica followed them, whispering and giggling. He stumbled as Peggy pulled him by the wrist, trying his best to keep up.

"What's going on?" he laughed as they arrived at the door. Peggy stopped and smirked evilly, surprising Alex even more. "You'll see," she sang as she reached for the doorknob. 

"Please don't be mad," Eliza whispered from behind him. That confused Alex. Why would he be mad? Who was at the door? More importantly, who was at the door that would make him mad?

His question was then answered for him as the door opened. At first, all Alex saw was the curly black Afro, the all to familiar trademark hair of his least favourite person in the world. There, standing in the doorway with a smile that looked more like a smirk, was Thomas fucking Jefferson. 

Alex felt his mouth drop in shock and then he felt the heat rise to his face as anger bubbled inside him. Thomas' eyes fell on Alexander and immediately his face fell into a look of disgust. Alexander mimicked the expression and stuck his tongue out at Thomas. He spun around to glare at his friends, who were trying their best to cover up their snickering. He had never felt more betrayed than at that moment. 

"What his he doing here!" he hissed at his friends. 

"Happy to see you too, Hamilton," Jefferson drawled. Alex spun back around to glare at him. 

"No. Just no! I won't let this happen!" Alex shouted angrily. Jefferson sighed and rolled his eyes. 

"What are you going to do, Hamilton? Kick me out?" he asked rhetorically, annoyance in his voice. Alex felt his face go red. 

"Yes! Leave! Goodbye!" Alex called, waving tauntingly at him. Thomas smirked and crossed his arms. "Sorry, but I don't believe this is your house. You can't kick me out," he replied smugly. 

"Fine!" Alex shouted, spinning around to look at Angelica. 

"Tell him to leave!" he shouted, sounding much like a complaining three year old. Angelica smiled apologetically.

"Sorry Alexander, but Thomas stays," she said. Alex gawked at her. He couldn't believe this. How could his friends be so cruel? They were supposed to be his friends! 

"So, may we come in?" Thomas asked, obvious amusement in his voice. He had known Hamilton was going to be at the party, it was his friends who were hosting it after all, and besides, he was more than happy to come for the sole purpose of pissing Hamilton off. And he was also looking forward to getting back at him for all the debates he'd won and that one time he punched him. Thomas would have to be a fool to forget about that one. 

"We?" Alex asked, confusion as well as disgust in his voice. Thomas looked at him with a smug expression, and then moved inside, James following behind him. Alex blinked in surprise. 

"Oh... s-sorry," he stuttered, too surprised and embarrassed to form a proper sentence. James just shrugged. "It's no problem," he said, and then muttered, "I'm used to it," under his breath. They came in and Angelica took their coats, much to Hamilton's protest. Thomas rolled his eyes. Of course Hamilton hadn't been able to see James, he was probably being blinded by that ultra huge ego of his. 

They walked back to the living room where the rest of the people were waiting. Alex stalked angrily back to Laf and John and started muttering under his breath. Thomas could only assume what he was complaining about, although his guess was pretty good. Suddenly, Thomas felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned around and had to bend over an obscure amount so James could whisper something to him.

"I don't like this," he hissed in Thomas' ear, "I want to leave." Thomas rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. "Stop being so dramatic! It'll be fun," he replied, earning an unhappy frown from James. 

"I just don't have a good feeling about-" 

"But you never have a good feeling about anything," Thomas countered, interrupting James. 

He tried to give James what was an encouraging smile before waltzing off to join the others, leaving James sulking to himself. He walked up to the group of people and flashed his most charming smile. 

"Thomas! Do you know everyone?" Laf asked, walking up to their friend. Thomas saw Hamilton glare at Lafayette, as if they were betraying him for talking to Thomas- which, in knowing Hamilton- was probably true. Thomas shot Hamilton a quick smirk before grinning at Lafayette. "I can't say I do," he replied. Lafayette smiled and took him by the arm, guiding him around the room, saying, "Come, I will introduce you." 

They pulled Thomas towards the girl in a yellow dress who answered the door. 

"Peggy! This is Thomas. Thomas, Peggy!" Laf said, gesturing to each of them as they said their names. Thomas smiled and nodded his head. 

"Nice to meet you, Peggy," he said nicely. She smiled and returned the nod slowly, an odd glint in her eyes. "And you as well," she replied. Then she turned around and grabbed the girl she was talking to before Laf and him had walked up. This girl was small, about the same size as Peggy, and she had a mass of voluminous brown hair with died fiery red ends. Her skin was a little darker than Peggy's and she had huge brown eyes with thick eyelashes. She wasn't wearing a costume, from what Thomas could tell, only a red tank top with a pair of dark blue jeans. At first, she seemed timid, a little scared even, but then she visibly relaxed when Peggy smiled at her.

"This is Maria," Peggy said, turning back towards Thomas. Peggy had a huge smile plastered across her face as she took Maria's hand in her own, pulling her up closer. "She's my g-" 

"Friend! Best friend," Maria interrupted, pulling her hand out of Peggy's. Peggy whipped her head around and starred at Maria, gaping at her. The poor girl looked hurt at the way Peggy looked at her and she closed in on herself a bit. She turned to Thomas and smiled what was probably the smallest smile he had ever seen. 

"Nice to meet you. Peggy," she said, turning to Peggy, "Can I speak with you for a second?" Peggy crossed her arms and glared, but under the hard expression you could see the hurt in her eyes. 

"Sure, Maria! That's what friends are for," she replied, practically spitting the venomous words out. Maria twitched anxiously but her poker face didn't falter. She grabbed Peggy by the arm, rather roughly, and dragged her out of the room, leaving Thomas blinking in confusion. He turned to Laf for an explanation but all they did was shrug. 

"My guess is as good as yours," they said, shaking their head. Thomas glanced back to where the girls had disappeared but there was still nothing there. He shook it off and followed Laf to the rest of the people, introducing himself and picking up small talk, something Thomas normally loathed but it was a party so he dealt with it. 

After a few more minutes, Angelica came into the room with an announcement. 

"Hello, everyone! So glad you could all come," she started, smiling wide. Thomas glanced around the room, looking for James, and he was pleasantly surprised to see him off in a corner talking with another young man. Thomas smiled, happy his friend had found someone to talk to. He knew that parties weren't James' thing and he felt a little bad that he made him come, but at the same time he knew this would be good for him. James really needed to make some more friends. 

"So, we're gonna play a little game now," Angelica said next, a mischievous edge to her voice which pulled Thomas' attention back to her. She bore a wide grin and a seemingly innocent expression, but Thomas saw the glint in her eye. She caught his gaze and made eye contact, smirking ever so slightly. He saw something akin to mischief sparkle in her eyes and play across her face in an almost unnoticeable way. But he noticed. She lingered her gaze on him a moment longer and then shifted it away, all signs of evil plotting vanishing from her expression as she took up a friendly smile and addressed the crowd once more. 

"I'm sure you've all heard of it," she continued, her voice echoing off the walls of the huge open room. The crowd of about 15 people all seem intrigued, Thomas caught Lafayette and the freckled one exchange whispers and laughs. Angelica smiled widely, as if her next sentence was a juicy secret that would blow everyone's mind as soon as she told them. 

"Nobody's gonna guess? Alright then. We're playing," she paused for emphasis, eagerness and curiosity sparking in the crowd as she did. She looks around, locks eyes with Thomas, and smirks. "Truth or dare!" she exclaims happily. 

The crowd erupts in simultaneous laughter and groans of dread, Thomas adding to the latter. He stared down Angelica hard, but she kept her neutral smile, only a hint of a dubious smile threatening to expose her. Thomas wanted to bang his head against the wall. 

"Alright! Everyone! In a circle! Let's go!" the bold woman instructed, motioning for everyone to join her as she took a seat on the long leather couch. The people moved eagerly, either claiming spots on the couch next to Angelica or in front of her on the floor. Thomas groaned again and massaged his temples.

"Are we seriously doing this? We're not in the fourth grade!" he complained as he trudged his way over, plopping himself on the floor next to James and the fellow he had been talking to in the corner. 

"Yes." was Angelica's answer, before she turned to the crowd, smiled charmingly, and asked, "Ok, who wants to start?" 

Everyone's hand except Thomas', James', and James' new friend shot up. Angelica grinned almost wickedly. 

"Alexander, why don't you start us off?" she asked sweetly though with a tinge of false sincerity. Thomas whipped his head in Hamilton's direction, surprised to see that he didn't have his hand up. He was actually giving Angelica the death glare, arms crossed angrily.

"I have to go to the bathroom," he replied, an edge in his voice. He stood up and shifted his gaze onto Thomas, shifting uncomfortably as he did. Thomas thought he saw something flicker in the Caribbean's eyes for a second, but then his glare returned to the grinning Angelica. 

"Excuse me," he drawled as he turned and stalked off. His friends snickered while Angelica and Eliza shared the same knowing smile. Thomas rolled his eyes. Eventually, someone went first and the game started, much to his complaints. This was going to be a fucking long night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm I wonder what's gonna happen when they all start playing truth or dare. Guess you'll have to read the next chapter ( which will probably be out later this week because I'm impatient and I freaking love what I have planned for the next chapter) to find out;)


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The lesbians get in a fight and it kinda hurt my heart to write that part. Meanwhile, Alex eavesdrops which is something you shouldn't do, unless if you need to ensure the safety of someone, then I think it's ok maybe. And I think some other stuff happens... it's kind of a blur, I wrote this really quickly. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so I forgot that I said I would post twice this week so I wrote this in about an hour. It's still not too bad which is saying something because I usually take my time with writing buuuuut I also really wanted to post this so. 
> 
> Another thing, this chapter got kinda long kinda fast so there's gonna be ANOTHER part to this Halloween party thing and I'll post that Monday most likely. I'm pretty busy this weekend so it may be out on Tuesday. But not later than that I promise!
> 
> In conclusion, enjoy some angsty stuff that may be foreshadowing something. Wait- is it foreshadowing if it already technically happened in the chronological order of the events in the fiction but the readers don't know about it yet? Or is there another term for that? Damn, and I call myself a writer?

Alexander rushed off to the bathroom, the heat in his cheeks burning bright. He was so not playing truth or dare, especially not with his stupid nemesis. He shuddered just thinking about what that asshole would make him do as soon as it was his turn- or make him say if he chose truth. He was just not going to. The whole idea of it sent a wave of nausea through him. And how could his friends have invited Thomas anyways? He was so angry- yet- not angry at all in fact. Having Thomas here would at least be interesting... and maybe he could settle a couple of ongoing debates while they were there...

Still, what gave his friends the right to do this to him? They didn't even ask! Well that made sense, seeming that his answer would have been a hard "NO". He contemplated the whole thing, running over all the possible reasons his friends had thought this was a good idea as he made his way down the hall. He was going to the bathroom, even though he didn't need to. He just wanted to get away for a minute, collect his never ending whirlpool of scattered thoughts. 

Once he reached the bathroom, he went to open the door, but paused as he heard muffled voices coming from inside. He blinked in surprise. He had thought everyone would be playing truth or dare by now? He went to turn around, whatever the people in there were discussing- or doing- was none of his business, but then he heard Peggy's voice. She sounded upset. Hamilton felt the curiosity edge it's way into his brain, grabbing hold and not letting go. He knew he shouldn't eavesdrop but Peggy was his friend and she sounded upset and- and yes he was aware he was just making excuses but he didn't care. He pressed his ear to the door softly. 

"I don't care, Maria!" he heard Peggy say, her voice strained and full of hurt and anger. "I thought this was supposed to be something more! I thought you said it would be different this time! Huh! Didn't you say that?!" 

\-----

Peggy stood in the bathroom, arms crossed angrily and staring down Maria who stared back at her with sad eyes from a couple feet away. She had a guilty expression on her face but it was also hard and determined. She wasn't going to back down, she wasn't the type to do so. She was strong and tough and Peggy admired that- loved that even. But what Peggy didn't love was this game they kept playing, and she was sick and tired of always losing.

She sighed heavily, dropping her arms at her sides. "I thought you wanted-" she was surprised when her voice caught, stalling her sentence. She swallowed back the lump in her throat and tried again. 

"I thought you wanted to be with me," she whispered, all the anger disappearing from her voice, leaving it to sound small and weak. She wanted to be mad but she wasn't, not anymore. No, now she was just heartbroken. Again. God, why was she always the one getting screwed?

Maria took a small step forward, a sympathetic look cast upon her face. Peggy scoffed indignantly, averting her gaze from the beautiful girl in front of her. Maria didn't care. She took one of Peggy's hands, gently enveloping it with both her own. Peggy wanted to pull away, she wanted to leave, she was sick of this, goddamn it! But she didn't move at all, not even her gaze which was determinedly fixed on the yellow bathroom wallpaper. Maria softly caressed her hand, bringing it close to her heart. Peggy felt the lump in her throat return as she felt the warmth from Maria's chest on her hand.

"Peggy," she said softly, eyes searching for Peggy's. She didn't want to look, and she tried very hard not to, but somehow she couldn't resist the magnetic field pulling her towards Maria. She gave her what she wanted, a long forlorn gaze with sad eyes. Maria sighed, obviously hurt by the way she was obviously hurting Peggy. 

"I do want you," she said, voice still a soft whisper. Peggy's breath caught, her heart felt like it was being torn out of her chest. Her eyes swelled up with tears suddenly, a wave of unwanted pain and sadness washing over her.

"Then why can't we just be together? I- I don't understand-" Peggy's voice wavered and broke, sputtering out the words weakly. She blinked a couple times and felt a tear slip out and dribble down her cheek. Maria was there in an instant, hands dropping Peggy's so that she could hold her face in them, her thumb tracing up the wet track the tear had left, drying it from her face. Peggy gazed into her eyes, searching deep inside of them for something, anything, that could tell her Maria was telling the truth this time. She only found the beautiful dark brown colour and the pure aching of sadness and longing. 

"Peggy I- you know I love you," she said, her own voice wavering. Peggy laughed bitterly, surprising even herself at how cruel she sounded. 

"Then stop fucking playing with me," she hissed, voice hard. Maria's eyes danced with hurt and shock at her tone of voice, sending an instant pang of guilt through Peggy. Though she also felt bitter and angry, wanting Maria to feel just as much pain as she made her feel. Maria dropped her hands, as well as her gaze, and took step back. Peggy felt the anger start to bubble inside of her again. She felt her broken heart turn to stone, her fists clenching and her jaw tightening.

"No, seriously Maria, when are you going to grow up?" she asked, spitting out the venomous words. Maria shifted guiltily, staring down hard at the ground. Peggy took a step closer, fists balled so tight she felt sparks of pain in her palms as her nails dug into them. 

"If you want me just fucking say I'm yours! Stop playing these mind games and make me yours!" she said, her voice rising. Maria looked up, locking eyes with Peggy, her expression hard but exhausted.

"It's not that easy," she said, doing her best to stop her voice from failing her. Peggy made an exasperated sound and bit the inside of her cheek, just to stop from screaming in frustration. 

"You say that every time!" Peggy spat back, instantly regretting it for she knew she shouldn't have said that. Maria's eyes widened, anger and disbelief burning behind them. Her face flushed red, she took a quick step forward, closing the distance between them. 

"BECAUSE IT'S TRUE!" she yelled into Peggy's face, voice suddenly growing loud. The volume shocked Peggy but she didn't back down, she held her stance and her hard stare. Maria flung her hands in the air, anger flooding her suddenly. She pointed at the bathroom door viciously.

"Those people out there go to school with him! They know him!" she continued, voice still loud and angry but not a yell. Maria brought her pointing finger and shoved it against Peggy's chest. 

"If you introduced me as your girlfriend, they'll tell him! And then just imagine what would happen!" she said, spitting out the word 'girlfriend' as if it were poison. Peggy swallowed hard. She hadn't thought of that. Maria's angry stare and venomous words stabbed at Peggy's already shattered heart, causing her to pull in on herself. She wrapped her arms around herself protectively, shifting worriedly under Maria's scrutinizing glare. 

She blinked back tears again, clutching herself tightly. The raging fire behind Maria's eyes died a little as she saw Peggy shrink away. But she was still upset.

"You know how hard this is for me!" she continued, her voice having lost all its previous venom but it kept its volume. Peggy gulped nervously. She did. More than she'd ever want to admit. But she didn't say this, so Maria continued. 

"He is awful and controlling and jealous and fucking terrifying! He's downright crazy- and you know this! He won't hesitate- he'll hurt me as soon as he finds out, he'll-" she stoped there, gasping for air all of a sudden. 

Peggy stared at her with huge, scared eyes. She felt awful. So guilty and sorry and- and god she just wanted to hold Maria, keep her protectively by her side until all her pain vanished. But Maria showed no signs of pain right then, only anger. Her eyes still burned with fury at Peggy's ignorance, although she really wasn't ignorant at all. Maria's heart pounded in her ears, the hot angry blood coursing through her veins. She wanted to hurt Peggy like she hurt her- wanted to even the score. The angry and betrayed feeling in her heart took control.

"You of all people should understand," she said bitterly, voice dropping to a low growl which sent chills up Peggy's spin. Peggy looked into her eyes, trying to plead her sorrow and guilt to her silently through her gaze. She wanted to apologize but she couldn't speak. Maria's face remained cold and unchanging. She shoved Peggy against the wall and then pinned her to it, looming over her despite the fact that she was actually the shorter of the two. Peggy's eyes widened, fear and shock dwelling in them. Maria felt a pang shoot through her heart but she didn't stop the next words, the next awful words, from spilling out of her mouth. 

"You KNOW what it's like for me! That night- YOU FOUND OUT! You know! You know and yet you still expect me to leave him and be with you! YOU KNOW WHAT HE'LL DO PEGGY BECAUSE HE DID IT TO YOU!" she screamed. Her words fell heavily in the small bathroom, creating an electrostatic atmosphere in the silence following them. Maria's face fell. She shouldn't have said that. Shit, she really shouldn't have said that. She looked up at Peggy desperately, a pleading look for forgiveness in her eyes. What she saw shook her to the core instead.

Peggy looked absolutely terrified. Her eyes were blown wide, tears trickling down her cheeks slowly. Her hands were up in front of her, preparing to defend herself. One of her knees was brought up in front of her in an effort to protect herself. She shrank against the wall and Maria suddenly realized she still had Peggy pinned down. She jumped back as if she had been burned, freeing Peggy. Maria brought a hand to cover her mouth in shock. She shook her head slowly, and then vigorously, a sob escaping her mouth. She blinked and a tear rolled down her own cheek, she wiped it away quickly. 

"I'm so sorry Peggy I didn't mean to-" she tried to apologize, but she couldn't get any further. 

"Get out." Peggy whispered, cutting her off. Maria felt her gut wrench. 

"No Peggy, please, I'm sorry I-" 

"I SAID GET OUT!" Peggy screamed, eyes screwed tightly shut and her arms wrapped tightly around herself. Maria's heart shattered on the tiles of the bathroom floor, but she did as she was told. She had hurt Peggy enough for one night. She turned to leave, not taking her eyes off of the now shaking Peggy. She opened the door and closed it behind her, but not before hearing the choked sobs fall out of Peggy's mouth. 

She wanted to run, scream, cry. She wanted to hold Peggy, comfort her, but she knew she didn't have that right anymore, not after what she had just said. Why did she have to say that? She had been just as ignorant as Peggy had been earlier. She sighed and continued to berate herself in her mind, that was until she ran into something solid in front of her. 

She blinked and gasped in shock, glancing up to see what she had run into- or rather who she had run into. He was looking at her with shock, surprise, curiosity, and a little bit of anger. Her eyes widened as she recognized him. Alexander Hamilton, Peggy had introduced them earlier. 

"Oh-" she said, it was all she could say. Had he heard her and Peggy in the bathroom? Fear and desperation flood her. 

"You didn't-" she started before she realized there was no right way to continue that sentence. Still, he seemed to understand, and much to her dreading, he nodded. Instant anxiety and fear filled her. 

"But don't worry, I won't say anything," he said, staring at her with sincerity and reassurance. She hesitated, not sure what to say. In the end, she just nodded. Alexander pointed at the bathroom door behind her. 

"I'm gonna check on her," he said before slipping past her. She stared helplessly and sadly as he entered the bathroom to comfort the girl she loved. 

\-----

Peggy was on the floor, hugging her knees close to her chest, curled up in a tight little ball. She shook as she sobbed into her knees, not even noticing Alexander as he walked in. He knelt down next to her, placing a careful gentle hand on her shoulder. Instantly, her head shot up to see who was there, fear and terror in her eyes which were also red and puffy with smudged black eye makeup around them. 

She relaxed a little when she was it was Alex. She shuddered a sigh which turned into another choked sob. Alex shushed her softly, slinking his arm around her shoulders and drawing her in close. She went willingly, hiding her face in his shoulder. 

She cried into the curve of his neck for a minute or two as Alex hugged her tightly and softly shushed and cooed her in an effort to calm her. She did eventually, finally relaxing her shoulders and letting out a staggered breath. Alexander loosened his hug grip, allowing her to breath a little more. She sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes, sighing weakly at the black makeup on her fingers. She gave Alexander and thankful and sad look, exhaustion clear on her normally bright and happy face. Alexander was very worried.

"Thank-" Peggy started before Alex cut her off. 

"What was that about?" he asked softly. Peggy shook her head slowly. 

"Who was that man you were talking about? What did he do to Maria?" he asked, probing further. Peggy shook her hand again, this time adding a soft but warning, "Alex...". But he didn't stop. 

"What did he do to you?" he asked, looking at her for answers. 

She just looked at him with the same tired and sad look. She sighed heavily and stood up slowly, Alex following her lead quickly.

"Not now, Alex," she said softly, exhaustion in her voice.

"But-" he started, stopping when she gave him that look, that Schuyler Sister look. It was strong and bold and condemned anyone who witnessed it into immediate silence. 

He sighed and nodded, understanding that now wasn't the time. Peggy smiled gratefully. 

"Tell my sisters I was tired and went to bed, ok?" she asked. Alex nodded, going to open the door for her. They both emerged and Alex was surprised to see Maria standing there still, waiting outside the bathroom door. And apparently Peggy was surprised as well. Maria started as soon as she saw her, pushing off the wall she was leaning against and walking quickly over to Peggy who shifted and looked away. 

"Peggy I'm so sorry please listen to me I-" 

"Stop! Please," Peggy pleaded, cutting off Maria's pleas. Maria opened her mouth to protest but Peggy gave her the same look she gave Alex only moments before. Maria shut up instantly. Peggy sighed, the love and sympathy returning to her heart. 

"I'll call you tomorrow..." she whispered. Maria looked up hopefully but Peggy still wouldn't meet her gaze. "We can talk about it then," she added.

Maria nodded in understanding, hurt and hope in her eyes. She went to grab Peggy's hand, hesitated, and then pulled her hand back away, deciding it probably wasn't a good idea. 

Alex moved to Peggy's side, putting a protective arm around her shoulders. "Come on, Pegs," he said softly. Peggy glared at him. 

"I can walk myself to my bedroom," she said, voice monotone and conveying no emotion. Alex immediately took his arm away and apologized which made Peggy feel bad. "But thanks- you know- for that," she added, gesturing to the bathroom door. Alex nodded courtly. 

Peggy sighed and started to walk away. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight Alex...." she paused and glanced over her shoulder. She smiled weakly. 

"Goodnight Maria." 

She turned and left Alex and Maria standing there alone. 

Maria sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I'm going home," she said, turning to leave. Alex pulled himself back to reality at these words. 

"Wait- Maria!" he called, jogging to catch up with her, she didn't stop walking.

"What happened to Peggy? Is she ok? What-" 

"That's for Peggy to tell you, not me," she said simply, grabbing her coat from the closet.

She pulled on her boots and Alex just hovered there awkwardly. He desperately wanted to know what happened to Peggy. He felt like it was his duty to go and fight whoever would hurt the sweet girl. But he knew Maria wouldn't tell him, so he muttered a goodbye as she left and then stood in the doorway for a minute before deciding to return to the living room. He still had to tell Angelica and Eliza about what had happened, and like hell he was just going to say she was tired and went to bed. The sisters would never believe that anyways, not with Peggy's usual life-of-the-party attitude. 

He made his way back to the living room where he saw everyone laughing and talking happily. He chuckled softly as he saw Hercules fall on his back after attempting a handstand- probably a dare someone made him do- grunting in pain and then joining in on the hysterical laughter of everyone else. Alex walked up to them and cleared his throat to get someone's attention. Angelica was bent over, clutching her sides while she laughed so hard no sound came out, and Eliza was gripping her arm, laughing in the same matter. They didn't seem to notice Alexander's attempt so he coughed loudly. 

Angelica looked up as she wiped a tear from her eye, smiling up at Alexander. "Finally come to join us?!" she asked, still chuckling as she did. Eliza looked up too, her face brightening as she laid her eyes on Alex. 

He shook his head and crossed his arms, trying his best to look authoritative and important. 

"I need to talk to you," he said, voice stern. Angelica just rolled her eyes, smirk appearing on her face. 

"If you don't want to play you can just sit here and sulk while the rest of us actually have FUN!" she said, the words rolling off her tongue in a drunkenly fashion. 

Alexander's face hardened as he felt the slight annoyance creep into him. Of course she was drunk. Angelica never got drunk but the ONE time he needed her to be sober... of course she was drunk. He silently cursed the universe for bestowing such utter irony onto him as he opened his mouth to try again. 

"Angelica," he said firmly, earning himself an arched eyebrow and a smirk from the woman. 

"I need to talk to you. It's important," he said. Angelica must have seen the pleading look on his face or heard the urgency in his voice because her expression fell and she grew solemn with understanding.

Alex checked a glance to Eliza, adding as an after thought, "Eliza, you should come to." Both sisters shared a look and then nodded, standing up almost in perfect synchronization. 

"We'll be back in a minute, keep playing," Eliza told their friends who were still laughing, paying absolutely no mind to Alexander's serious expression. He lead the two of them down the hall and to the stairwell at the front entrance. 

"What is it?" Angelica asked, urgency and annoyance in her voice. 

Alex stopped in front of the stairs and motioned up them. 

"Peggy's up there," he said. Angelica and Eliza gave him confused looks. 

"So?" they asked at the same time. 

"She said to tell you she was tired and went to bed," he continued, hoping they'd catch on and he wouldn't actually have to betray Peggy's trust by telling them. They didn't catch on, they just kept looking confused. He sighed deeply. 'Of fucking course they were both fucking drunk how fucking convenient...'

"But she's not ok. You guys have to go check on her," he said, looking at them seriously. They share yet another look. 

"What happened?" Eliza asked, stepping closer to Alexander, slight fear and much concern in her huge brown eyes. 

"I'm not completely sure... her and Maria got into a fight about some guy and something he did-" he didn't have time to finish his sentence because just then Eliza gasped, pushed past him, and ran up the stairs with heavy, desperate steps. Alex turned and gaped at her in shock as she disappeared behind a corner. Then, his attention was pulled back to Angelica as she grabbed his arm tightly.

"We'll go make sure she's ok," she said, her tone of voice reassuring yet also stern. Alexander nodded, adding, "I'll come too." Angelica shook her head.

"No you will not. You will however, go back out there and entertain our guests while we're gone," she ordered, only sternness in her voice now. Alex wanted to protest but the sheer look she was giving him sent chills down his spine and made him nod in agreement. She smiled her thanks, and then she was bounding up the stairs after her sister. 

Alex took a breath, trying to calm his nerves. Peggy would be ok now. She had her sisters. They would take care of her. His work was done. Still, he worried. He finally decided there was no use in that and eventually wound up back in the living room with his friends. 

When he got there he found they were all silent, watching intently as John was managing to down a can of beer in one go. They all cheered as he finished, wiping his mouth dry triumphantly. Alex smirked and laughed as he sat down on the floor, across from John. 

"Impressive!" Hercules exclaimed as he clapped the giggling John on his back. 

"Thank you, thank you," he muttered drunkenly, doing his best to bow for their cheering and laughing friends while he was seated on the floor. 

"It is your turn now!" Lafayette reminded him, tugging urgently on his arm. John smirked and rolled his eyes, looking around the circle of people for his next victim. Alex watched in amusement as his gaze lingered on Jefferson, contemplattment on his face. Alex grinned, thinking of just what John was going to make their shared enemy do when he picked dare- or confess when he picked truth. 

"Alex!" John exclaimed, turning his head to Alexander. 

He blinked in shock, his face not hiding his surprise at being chosen. And then his stomach filled with dread and twisted with nerves.

"No, John! Pleeease!" Alex whined, practically ready to jump to his knees to beg John not to do this to him. But John just smirked wickedly, obviously very determined to make Alexander his next prey. Alex tried one last time, flashing him with the biggest puppy dog eyes he could muster, rendering himself to look completely pathetic. John's smirk grew wider as he opened his mouth and asked the most dreaded question.

"Truth or dare?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love how I ended this chapter. What do you think Alex is gonna pick? And what do you think John's truth/dare is gonna be?


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Carla from in the heights voice) Wow, now that you mention that sexual tension is easy to see!
> 
> In other words, the sexual tension between Jeffershit and Hamilturd becomes unbearable and something unexpected happens, or completely expected idk what your guys' predictions were.
> 
> In other news, Peggy is sad and her sisters are the best and comfort her and soon you'll find out what's been wrong with her, that is if you haven't already guessed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NO- NO DON'T WORRY THIS ISN'T A SMUT CHAPTER I PROMISE EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN THIS CHAPTER IS COMPLETELY PG-RATED AND SIN-FREE!!!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> (But also don't worry, that part will come later>;))

John wasn't backing done now, not when he was so close. He watched as Alexander's eyes widened at the mention of his name, his face paling from shock and dread. He listened as Alexander whined, pleading him not to do this, and somehow managed to shake away how the sound of Alexander begging made him feel. He smirked as Alexander waited, probably expecting him to ask someone else after his pleas. He wasn't going to back down, Alexander. He didn't even let the puppy dog eyes Alexander threw his way get to him, no matter how fucking adorable he looked. And even though that face would have gotten John to do absolutely anything for Alexander, he didn't let it get to him then. 

"Truth or dare?" he asked, the words dropping heavily from his mouth. Alex gaped, actually shocked into silence for once in his life. The room was silent and thick with suspense, everyone watching attentively to see what happened next. Alexander glanced around helplessly, searching for someone to help him out of this situation he was in. No one did. He huffed indignantly and crossed his arms, glaring at the ceiling.

"Dare," he muttered angrily. John felt a wave of joy and satisfaction wash over him, his face erupting in a huge grin. Alexander was right where he wanted him.

He leaned backwards, crossing his arms and staring up at the ceiling thoughtfully. He wanted to make it seem like he was taking his time to think up a dare, but in reality he already had it ready to go. It was all he had been wanting to do all night, the only dare he wished to give. He wanted nothing more than to ask it, then to make it happen, then to make Alexander make it happen. God he was so ready, he could barely wait another second. 

Yet, somehow he did. He waited several more seconds, letting the room get even thicker with suspense as everyone waited eagerly. He glanced at Alex curiously, taking in the way his eyes shone brightly, despite the obvious glare on his face. He traced his figure with his eyes, following the curving and edged lines from the top of his head to his feet which were crossed underneath him. John's gaze lingered a second longer on one particular area of Alexander's body- his crotch- hoping to get a glimpse of what the handsome Caribbean was working with, but unfortunately nothing was visible through his dark jeans. 

'Oh well,' pipped up a curiously chipper voice in his head, 'guess you'll just have to find that out later.'

John thought he heard the voice laugh wickedly. Oh god, he hoped that voice was right. John glanced around the circle once more, taking in the intent expressions on everyone's face as they stared at him, waiting. Lafayette was grinning slightly, barely containing their excitement. They most likely already knew what John was going to dare Alex to do. Hercules looked at him curiously, an eyebrow arched high on his forehead.

Then, John's eyes fell on Thomas Jefferson. The man who he had thought would ruin his whole night was being oddly obedient, not picking any fights with Alexander since he first arrived. John peered at him curiously as he stared back with an almost bored expression. Anger suddenly flooded John. He wanted to tell Jefferson that if he was so bored he could just leave, God knew how much everyone wanted him to. 

'Jefferson is such a shit, acting like he'd rather be anywhere in the world but here,' the voice said, 'you should show him, make him regret coming here in the first place.'

'Not now,' John silently argued with the voice. No, definitely not now. Right now he had other, much more important things to do. Like, for example, giving Alexander that long awaited dare. He turned his gaze back to said boy, a bright hot feeling burning a hole through his heart just at the mere sight of him. God he was so perfect. His hair was perfect, John could only imagine how soft it was. His eyes were perfect, John could only imagine what laid behind them. His clothes were perfect, John could only imagine what laid beneath them.

"I dare you..." the words fell out of his mouth unwillingly, he didn't remember asking them to come out. Somehow his mouth had gotten a brain of it's own, as it probably would again once Alex completed the dare. He saw as Alexander looked at him pleadingly once more, begging him for mercy. John wanted more of it, he wanted Alexander to beg for him. Hopefully, after the dare, that would be the case. John made it his mission to get him to be begging for more. 

"To..." he continued, finding he had control over his words again. 

He went to form the first letter of the next word with his mouth, but then stopped. 

What if this didn't turn out the way John had hoped? What if Alexander rejected him, refused to complete to dare? What if he recoiled in disgust, gagging at the mere thought of completing the dare? John's heart fell. But he still had to try. He couldn't just let such an opportunity slip... he had to do it! He had to just man up and do it....

"To kiss..." he finally managed to say it. He heard the crowd gasp excitedly. He saw Lafayette's eyes glimmer knowingly. He saw both of Hercules' eyebrows shoot up. He saw Jefferson's face light up with curiosity and interest. 'Yeah, now he's not bored,' the voice said, 'bet he's hoping you to dare HIM to kiss Alexander.'

John swallowed. Nerves flooded him. He couldn't do it. 

'Yes you can!' the voice yelled encouragingly. John shook his head. 

'No I can't,' he said in his head. 

'Yes you can! Ask him! Do it now while there's still time!'

"I dare you to kiss..." John repeated. Alexander's eyes were huge, fearful. It sent a chill down his spine. 

'Me! Me! Me!' the voice yelled joyously.

"To kiss..." John tried again. 

'ME! ME FOR GOD SAKES! KISS ME!' the voice yelled.

John's eyes darted around the room desperately. Eliza wasn't there to save him, nor was Angelica. His eyes fell on Thomas.

"Thomas!" he blurted out before he could stop himself.

'Nooooooooooo!' the voice wailed.

The room gasped. Lafayette gaped at John in disbelief. Hercules' face erupted in amusement and laughter, obviously finding the situation hilarious. Jefferson's eyes were huge, his mouth hanging open as he stared at John in shock. John felt his gut wrench, he felt as though someone had twisted his heart out of his body. Reluctantly, he moved his gaze to Alex.

Alexander was glowing so red you could have mistaken his face for a tomato. He glared at John and John felt as if he was going to be sick right then and there. And then he watched as Alex whipped his head to look at Thomas. 

The two stared at each other, one with a death glare and the other with a face like he'd seen a ghost. Their stare seemed to last forever, the silence of the room feeling heavy as everyone awaited their reactions. And then, the silence ended.

"No. No FUCKING WAY!" Alexander screamed. 

"For once I agree with Hamilton," Thomas sputtered, crossing his arms around himself protectively. Alexander turned to glare at him. 

"Of course you would agree! There's no way in hell your uptight ass would ever agree to something like this!" Alexander shot back, face burning red. Thomas scoffed and glared back, the colour returning to his face. 

"Uptight? Really, Hamilton? As opposed to what?" Thomas spat, fire and disgust in his eyes. Hamilton rolled his eyes in annoyance. 

"Oh, I don't know, maybe doing something fun for once! Something outgoing and daring! This IS truth or dare!" Alex yelled. Thomas laughed bitterly at this, his comeback already ready to go. This one was too easy, Hamilton had practically handed it over to him. 

"Sorry Alexander, but I'm not going to whore myself out for some stupid game! I'm not like you," he sneered, earning gasps and "ohh!"'s from the circle. Alex turned even redder and stood up quickly, fists balled tightly. 

"Did you just call me a fucking whore?" he asked, voice uncharacteristically quiet. The change to low volume in his voice sent a wave through Thomas' body, edging him closer to complete and utter rage. He stood up as well, daring Alexander.

"And what if I did?" he snarled, chest heaving in anticipation. Sudden nervousness flooded his body. The way Hamilton looked at him sent chills down his spine, it was a look of pure hatred and rage. He swallowed hard as Alexander took quick steps forward, closing the distance between them in a matter of seconds. 

"If I'm such a whore why would you have a problem kissing me? You've been with plenty of whore's yourself I'm sure," Hamilton hissed, voice so quiet Thomas wasn't even sure if the others could hear. 

Hamilton was so close Thomas could practically hear his heart hammering in his chest. Thomas took a moment to think of a comeback, but nothing came to mind. He couldn't think straight while Hamilton was so close and looking up at him with such fire in his eyes.

Thomas swallowed and looked away nervously. He heard Hamilton scoff and then laugh out loud, bitterly. 

"Don't you wanna kiss me, Jefferson?" he cooed tauntingly, earning himself a few snickers from the circle. Thomas whipped his head back to glare at him once more, looking straight into his eyes. 

"You know damn well that I'd rather have my limps cut off one by one," he snarled menacingly.

"That can also be arranged," Hamilton said, an infuriating smirk on his lips. 

Thomas gritted his jaw and clenched his fists, his breath becoming uneven. He marvelled at the realization of just how much self control he must have to be able to fight the urge to strangle Hamilton. Eventually, the crowd grew restless.

"Kiss him already!"

"Yeah, com'on!" 

"It's a dare for fuck's sake, you have to do it!" 

were just some of the complaints thrown their way. Hamilton smirked wider and raised an eyebrow. 

"Come on, we have to give them what they want," he purred. Thomas wanted to vomit all over him.

"No! You're disgusting! You all are disgusting!" Thomas protested, shouting at the people around him.

And then it happened. 

Thomas couldn't have stopped it if he had tried- which he didn't- but still. 

Alexander grabbed the front of Thomas' shirt, clutching the soft fabric in his hand as he pulled the man forward. Thomas' body followed, unable to react in such a state of shock. Once he was practically ready to fall on top of Hamilton, the man reached up and gripped the back of Thomas' head, entangling his fingers in the soft curls. He pulled Thomas' head down and reached up with his own, standing on his toes in order to reach the taller man's lips. Thomas just watched in horror and let it happen, his eyes blown wide while Alexander's were already shut.

Thomas let out a noise of surprise- a squeak was really what it was- as their lips collided. Hamilton smashed them together, pulling Thomas' head in even closer as his mouth moved around Thomas' lips. Thomas had his eyes wide open, staring in shock at the man in front of him. Everything seemed to still. Thomas revelled in the feeling of Alexander's lips on his, surprised at how soft they were. He marvelled at the sent of Alexander, which was something like a warm summer breeze on a topical island. He was suddenly struck with the realization of how much he was enjoying this.

That thought snapped Thomas back to reality. He finally got control over his limps again and pushed Alexander away quickly. He gasped and clung at his heart, which was pounding rapidly, with his hand, staring incredulously at Hamilton, who had the largest smirk on his face, his lips glossy and red after the kiss. Thomas was terrified at the spark those lips had caused him to feel. 

"I- you-...!" was all Thomas could say. 

Hamilton crossed his arms, a smug expression on his face. 

"Still up for that cutting off all your limps thing?" he taunted. The people around them snickered and cheered. Thomas was infuriated and shocked and appalled and terrified all at the same time. He turned to James.

"We're leaving," he ordered, bending down to drag his friend up. 

"But-" 

"NOW!" Thomas yelled, cutting James' protest off. He dragged his friend to the front door, ignoring the calls from the circle. He grabbed his coat and flung it on, doing the same thing with his shoes. James followed suit, but quite reluctantly. 

"Leaving already?" came Angelica's voice from the stairs. 

Thomas turned and said, "Yeah, and you can thank Alexander for that." And with that, he grabbed James and slammed the door shut behind him. 

\------

Eliza raced up the stairs and to her sister's room. She knew exactly what was wrong. When she made it there, Peggy's door was already closed. She knocked softly but quickly, heart pounding in her ears. 

"Who is it?" came a tentative voice from inside. 

"Eliza, I just want to make sure you're ok," she said, trying not to let the worry and panic into her voice. 

"I am," Peggy said, although her voice betrayed her words as it caught and faltered. Eliza turned the doorknob and pushed open then door. 

The room was dark, Peggy was sitting on her bed, knees drawn into her chest. She poked her head up and blinked at the light that suddenly flooded the room. 

"Can I sit?" Eliza asked softly, lingering in the doorway. Peggy hesitated but then nodded. Eliza walked in and sat down, not wasting another second without comforting Peggy. She wrapped her arms tightly around her sister who leaned into her soft touch, resting her head on Eliza's shoulder. 

Peggy let out a soft sob and Eliza pulled her in tighter, shushing and cooing softly. Just then Angelica came in and joined them, hugged Peggy from the other side. Peggy started to shake. She felt the fear and vulnerability she had become so accustomed to over the last couple of months take control over her again as her body wracked with horrified sobs. 

Her sisters didn't ask about anything, they just held her tight and let her cry, whispering words of comfort and reassurance here and again. Peggy calmed down soon, already too exhausted to cry any longer. She felt empty, hallow. As if someone had dug out her insides and now she was just a mere, fragile shell. She felt the comforting fingers of exhaustion pull at her skin, tearing her brittle shell to pieces one by one. Slowly, she became nothing, not even a shell anymore. Now she was just a body, her soul having left long ago.

There was a battle going on above her, one between exhaustion and fear. Fear didn't want her to sleep, wanted her to stay awake in fear of having nightmares once more. Exhaustion wanted her to sleep, wanted her to give in to the dark blackness of oblivion and all it's comforts, wanted her to forget her feelings and just become nothing. Exhaustion won in the end, claiming it's victory and pulling her down into the darkness where she could finally relax and rest her head, knowing very well there was no point in existing anymore. 

She slipped under, allowing the darkness to envelope and fold around her. Eventually, she became part of the darkness and disappeared completely. She sighed as she fell asleep. There was a surprising comfort in becoming nothing.

"I think she's asleep," Angelica whispered. 

Eliza opened her own sleepy eyes and glanced at Peggy, her eyes closed and her face relaxed, her chest rising and falling slowly and evenly. She smiled and slowly untangled herself from the sleeping Peggy, careful not to wake her. Angelica did the same and eventually the two of them were free. They covered Peggy with the blankets, Eliza tucked her in while Angelica removed the little silver tiara that was still in her hair. 

"My heart hurts every time this happens," Angelica whispered as she stared sadly at the sleeping Peggy.

"My heart hurts every time I look at her now," Eliza whispered back, her heart literally feeling like it was being shredded to pieces at that very moment. 

"I wish I could help her," Angelica choked out, her voice wavering, her throat becoming suddenly tight. Eliza pulled her older sister in for a hug. They comforted each other, like they always did when this happened.

"She told us already... she doesn't want to do anything," Eliza whispered sadly. Angelica choked out a sob and shook her head into Eliza's shoulder.

"I know! But it kills me not to do anything," she whimpered, her voice gone hoarse. 

"I know," Eliza whispered, running her hand across Angelica's back soothingly. 

"That man is out there! We could put him in jail if she just let us-" Angelica had to stop her sentence as another sob fell out. She gasped for air and forced herself to calm down, forced herself to stop shaking so violently. She only ever allowed herself a few minutes to cry- this is if she even had to cry at all. 

She pulled away from Eliza and wiped away her tears, sighing deeply. Eliza looked at her sympathetically.

"We'll get him, don't worry. She just needs time to heal, and then we'll put that bastard behind bars," Angelica said harshly. Eliza didn't look too convinced but she nodded anyways, turning her gaze back to the soundly sleeping Peggy. 

"I'm gonna sleep here tonight, in case she gets a nightmare," Eliza said softly. Angelica nodded in agreement. "Ok, I'm going back down stairs to let everyone know that party's over, it's practically 12:30 anyways," she said.

She left Eliza in the room, closing the door softly behind her. Then she took a minute to gather herself, taking a few deep breaths. Once calm, she plastered on a fake smile, pushed back her shoulders, and walked confidently back to the stairs. There was no use in falling apart now, especially not when she had guests to take care of. She turned the corner and started her descend down the stairs, head held high.

Before she could get to the bottom, she stopped in shock. She saw Thomas hurrying to put his coat and shoes on and James glumly following suit. She cleared her throat.

"Leaving already?" she asked, voice strong and bold as usual. Thomas whipped his head around and glared. His face was flushed red and his pupils were blown wide and he was fidgeting, obviously uncomfortable. He narrowed his eye and worked his jaw angrily. 

"Yeah, and you can thank Alexander for that!" he snarled before grabbing James, who was still struggling to put on his shoe, by the arm and dragged him out the door, slamming it shut behind them. The noise reverberated off the walls of the high ceiling front entrance. 

Angelica stared for a moment, utterly confused, then she came to her senses and realized that he and Alexander had probably just gotten into another one of their arguments. With a long sigh, she shook her head and headed back to the living room, stopping once again in shock as she laid her eyes on the scene in front of her.

Almost everyone was on the floor laughing. Hercules was practically dying from oxygen deprivation, his face turning red. Alex was beet red, arms crossed and looking annoyed, although there was a slight smile on his face. Lafayette and John were having a heated whisper-shouting match, the latter of the two looking absolutely heartbroken.

"What the hell is going on?" Angelica asked, her voice booming through the room and bringing everyone to silence. Alex turned, his expression turning to concern once he saw her. He walked right up to her, already on her tail with the endless stream of questions. 

"Is Peggy ok? What happened? Where's Eliza? Wh-" 

"Alexander!" Angelica hissed, cutting him off. He shut up after that.

Angelica turned to address the crowd, smiling as best as she could. "Sorry everyone but party's over. It's late and our parents will be home soon," she said. The last part was a lie but she needed everyone gone. Everyone frowned and groaned sadly, obviously not wanting to leave. Angelica suppressed the frustrated screams that wanted to escape her lips and instead smiled a fake smile.

"Sorry but y'all gotta go! See you Monday for class," she said. Everyone got up reluctantly and moved to the front entrance to gather their things. It took only another ten or so minutes for everyone to clear out after saying their goodbye's and thank you's. Alexander tried to stay and ask more questions but Angelica wouldn't allow it and basically shoved him out the door, closing it shut behind him. As he was the last one out, she sighed deeply and pressed her back to the closed door, slowly sliding down until she was seated on the floor. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the door with a soft thud. 

It was hard to stay strong when one of the people you love most in the world is hurting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo kinda a short chapter but at least Halloween is finally over. Anyways, please continue to leave kudos and comments because I love to see what you guys thought and I always like feedback:)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas is a dork.
> 
> John is sad.
> 
> Peggy is not ok. But she's finally making the step towards being ok again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, ok sorry this is a day late but I really didn't want to post this chapter. I mean, a lot of it is good but there were parts where I had to debate with myself whether I should post this or not.
> 
> In this chapter there are mentions of rape and sexual assault, as well as kind of like a flashback to it. It doesn't get very graphic or detailed at all and the rape part doesn't happen but there is non-consented kissing and like groping I guess. Anyways, this is a warning in case you don't want to read it, you can just stop reading when it changes into first person point of view. There's a summary of that part in the notes at the end if you skip it but still want to know what happens just not in detail.
> 
> The reason I was conflicted about posting this was because I wanted to add this part and bring awareness to the issue of rape because it's so bad guys, but I didn't want to actually write about it because it's so horrible. I also didn't want to hurt anyone who might have experienced this in the past so that's why I put the warnings. Anyways, I thought that this was a happy medium where I didn't actually write about it happening but more about the healing process the victims have to go through. And don't worry, that will continue and the victims in my story will heal and justice will be served to the one who hurt her.
> 
> Ok, anyways, the first part of the chapter is funny so definitely read that! And if you want to stop at the first person point of view part, the summary will be in the notes down below.

Thomas wanted to scream. Nothing about this was ok. He and James had driven back to the dorms in silence and then walked to the dorms in silence and then parted ways with a mere "goodnight". Thomas wasn't sure if James was angry at him for making him leave or if he just knew talking to Thomas right now wasn't a good idea but whatever the case, he was grateful for the silence. It gave him time to sit in his thoughts and stew angrily over the fact that Alexander Hamilton had just fucking kissed him.

He had kissed him and Thomas had let it happen. He kept going over and over it in his mind, cringing every time he did, and then replayed it again just to torture himself. Why had Hamilton done it? He obviously didn't want to. He and Hamilton were enemies! And- and he was gross! And tiny and infuriating and pretty. Wait, no. Pretty ugly! Yeah...

Ok, so Thomas wasn't daft enough not to acknowledge Hamilton's good looks, although he almost wished he was. Arguing with the little Caribbean was a lot harder when his eyes were so goddamn pretty. And don't even get Thomas started on how hard it was not to enjoy that kiss when Hamilton's lips were just so soft. Thomas really really wished Hamilton wasn't as good looking as he was, it would make his life a lot easier. 

As soon as he got back to his dorm, he collapsed on his bed, flopping down on his stomach and letting his face hit the pillow. He stayed like that for a good minute, not being able to breath from the fact that his face was stuffed against the pillow. He considered smothering himself and just putting an end to his misery for a moment, but then his reflexes kicked in and he came up for air, gasping desperately. 

Once he had filled his lungs, his face flopped right back down against the pillow. And then he screamed in frustration, his voice muffled by the fabric. He came up for air and finally flipped to his back, chest rising and falling heavily. He dragged both hands down his face. 

'Fuck Hamilton. Fuck him for kissing me. Fuck him for looking so damn good. Fuck him for always being so infuriating. Just, fuck him!'

'I bet you would enjoy that,' a voice Thomas didn't recognize piped up from inside his head. He sat up, confused and appalled at the voice. 

"Excuse you, I don't want to literally fuck Hamilton," he told the voice.

'Uh huh. And I bet you don't want to see what he looks like naked either,' the voice replied sarcastically.

"Shut up! You're crazy," Thomas muttered.

'Me? You're the one talking to yourself alone in your dorm room,' the voice quipped.

"Uggghhhh!" Thomas cried in frustration, his hands tugging at his hair as he flopped back onto his back. Why was he being like this? Why was he allowing Hamilton to have such an effect on him?

Thomas closed his eyes and sighed. Then a thought struck him. What if the only way to get rid of these thoughts was to actually indulge in them for a bit? Thomas considered it. It could work. He then let himself actually take a moment to think of the kiss, and not just how embarrassing it was, but actually think about it.

It was a nice kiss. Hamilton had kind of smashed their lips together a little forcefully but not to an uncomfortable extent. And again, his lips had been so beautifully soft. And they had also been firm and eager, pressing and moving against his quickly. Thomas remembered the way his tongue had flicked out and poked at his lips, almost like he had been asking for an entrance to Thomas' mouth. But it was at that moment that Thomas had pushed him away so obviously Hamilton hadn't gotten what he had wanted.

Had Hamilton wanted it? He was the one who kissed Thomas, after all. And the kiss had been so damn passionate, not just a quick peck on the lips like any other "dare kiss" would have been. Suddenly, Thomas remembered the way Hamilton smelt, and it washed over him again, taking over his senses. Thomas closed his eyes, sighing softly as he brought up the image of Hamilton's face being so close to his, the way his face felt as it pressed against his own. 

He slowed down the kiss in his mind, as if playing the memory in slow motion. He saw the smirk on Hamilton's face, which never seemed to disappear. He saw the sparkle in his eyes that hinted at the brilliance behind that thick skull of his. He saw Hamilton reach up, remembering how he had to stand on his toes to reach Thomas' mouth. Thomas smiled at the memory of that, not because it was funny to see Hamilton have to stand on his toes to reach his height, but because he looked so damn adorable while doing it. 

And next came the kiss, Thomas replayed this slowly as well. He remembered being so shocked a chill ran through his body, his hairs stood on end as Hamilton touched their lips together. He remembered not closing his eyes but staring at Hamilton's closed eyes instead, they had been so close. He remembered the feeling of Hamilton's hands clutching the back of his neck, in fact he could even feel them still there. He remembered the heat and warmth spelling out from Hamilton's body and onto his own because their bodies were touching...

As Thomas played and replayed the memory, he grew fonder and fonder of the kiss. He even took it to the next level, imagining what it would feel like to gather Hamilton in his arms instead of standing there like a limp rag doll. He imagined how Hamilton would push back up into him and kiss him harder. He imagined the noises Hamilton would make, a soft sigh here, a beautiful moan there, as Thomas slid his tongue inside his mouth and-

What was he doing? His face paled as cruel realization spilled over him. He should stop, he should really really stop. This was taking it too far. He cannot fantasize about Alexander freaking Hamilton, he just couldn't. He got up immediately and started busying himself for distraction. He showered and changed and brushed his teeth and climbed into bed and turned off the light. He breathed deeply, trying to force himself to sleep, trying to force himself to forget all the events of that night. 

\-----

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING YOU STUPID STUPID BOY!!!" 

Lafayette screamed at John as soon as they were safely in their dorm room, alone. John huffed indignantly, not in the mood to be told off by Lafayette, he had already done that enough to himself since it happened. Lafayette wasn't satisfied with that though, they felt the need to punish John further for his stupid actions.

"I CANNOT BELIEVE," Laf started, walking up to John. Then Laf started swatting John's arm with his hand. 

"YOU WOULD BE SO STUPID AS TO," they continued smacking John's arm angrily. John rolled his eyes, the blows barely hurt, he was just getting more annoyed. 

"MAKE ALEXANDER KISS THOMAS," Laf continued, bringing their hand higher to smack John across the head. 

"INSTEAD OF YOU!" and with that last line, Lafayette smacked John hard across the top of his head.

"OW!" John yelped, bouncing away from Lafayette. He rubbed his head and pouted at his roommate. 

"What the hell was that for?" he whined, his head throbbing. Lafayette gave John the most done glare in the history of mankind and placed their hands on their hips. "I am going to kill you, mon ami," they said, voice finally lowering after yelling so much. John sighed and collapsed onto his bed. 

He stared at the floor, solemn expression on his face. Laf remained calm for the first time since they got back. 

"I know... I- I made a stupid mistake..." John trailed off, his voice soft. He felt awful. He felt as though he had torn his own heart out and ripped it in half, emphasis on him because he was the one who made this whole thing happen. It was all on him. 

Lafayette must have seen the sadness in his eyes because they sighed and came to sit next to John. "Do you want to talk about it?" Laf asked tentatively. 

"No," came John's immediate answer. Laf sighed again and stood up. 

"Ok. Maybe try and sleep, it may feel better in the morning," they suggested kindly. John nodded in submissive agreement, although he doubted he would be able to ever feel better about any of it. 

\-----

"You'd look so hot in that," Maria calls from behind me as I eye the tight red dress I have in my hands. I snort and turn to face her, rolling my eyes. 

"Yeah, maybe if I had YOUR body I would," I reply, smirking widely. Maria laughs her adorably soft laugh, throwing her head back in that cute way she does. My heart does a little backflip as I smile and watch her smile back. 

"You're impossible," she says, turning back around in her chair to face the mirror on her desk once more. I watch as she applies a thick layer of lipstick on her beautifully full lips. All I want to do is kiss those lips, it's all I ever want to do. She sees me staring and smirks. 

"Do you like this colour?" she asks innocently, knowing very well how hard I'm thirsting over her right now.

"Red always looks good on you," I reply, mimicking her smirk. She laughs and rolls her eyes as she stands. "You're such a fucking tease," she quips, eyeing me affectionately. I blush and look down, this girl as so much effect on me.

"Try the dress on," she says before walking past me. "I'll be back, just gonna check on the cookies," she calls before leaving the room.

I continue to smile even after she's gone. I decide to try on the dress, thinking maybe I could work some of the effect I have on her as well. I unbutton my shirt and pull it over my head, pulling the sleeves back outside out so that my shirt wasn't inside out, and I fold it nicely. I go to unbutton my jeans but then I hear something and I freeze, goosebumps pricking my skin. I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, that feeling you get when somebody's watching you.

I spin around, heart heavy in my ears, and I see him. James Reynolds, Maria's older boyfriend is standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed and a drunken smirk on his face. He lifts his eyes to my face and I watch in fear as he traces them down my body. Then he wolf whistles. 

"Lookin' good babe," he drawls, his words slurred from the obvious drunken state he's in. 

I shift nervously and try to cover myself with my arms, even though I am still wearing a bra. 

"Umm, hi James. Maria-" 

"Shhh, Maria. I don't have time for your stupid rambling," he says, sauntering into the room and slamming the door shut as he did. I blanch, fear overwhelming me. 

"No, I'm not-" 

"Shhhh I said," James cuts me off again as I try to explain to him that I'm not Maria. I open my mouth to explain again but then he's on me.

My eyes go wide and a noise of surprise escape's my lips, although it's swallowed by his mouth which is now pressing ferociously against mine. I stumble backwards as he grips my shoulders. I start to panic. I plant my hands on his chest and push him away, he stumbles backwards in shock. 

"I'm not Maria!" I say breathlessly as I rush past him to the door. I have to get out of here I have to get out of her I have to get out of here.

I strong hand grips my wrist and stops me from reaching the closed door. I whip around, positive my face must look as horrified as I feel. James glares at me in a way that sends chills down my spine. 

"And where do ya think yer goin'?" he slurs, nails digging into my skin. I open my mouth but no words come out, I'm too scarred to speak. Then, he shoves me up against the wall by the door, his face so close to mine I can smell the alcohol on his breath. 

He stares at me for a moment and all I can do is stare back in terror. And then he hums in thought or amusement, perhaps both. 

"You aren't Mariaaa," he practically sings, amused look in his eye. I feel a sense of relief feel me. 

"No, I- I'm Peggy," I manage to stutter. He looks at me curiously. 

"I guess you'll have to do," is all he says.

I feel my heart stop as I wonder what that was supposed to mean. But I get my answer soon enough. 

He reaches for the door and for a second I think he's going to open it, but then my heart leaps into my throat when I see him flick the lock shut. 

"What-" I start but I can't finish because now he's kissing me again. I blink in shock, eyes wide with fear as he presses me into the wall, lips moving hard and quickly against mine. I try to scream as his tongue presses into my mouth and jabs at the inside of it, but any sound I make is swallowed by his mouth. 

James is pushing me so hard into the wall it hurts. His hands grip my arms, forcing them down when I try to push him away again. He thrusts his hips forward and starts to grind them against me, thrusting me into the wall. My eyes widen in horror as I feel him bulge against my pelvis and he moans as he does. I struggle and try to fight him off, but he's too fucking strong. I close my eyes tight and summon all my strength before I try again to free myself from his grip. 

But James is suddenly off of me. I gasp for air and tear my eyes open but I barely have time to register before he grabs me and throws me to the bed. A small shriek escapes me as he jumps on top of me. I open my mouth to scream but then his hand is clamped over my mouth. My eyes grow wider as I still, too scared to move anymore. James glares down at me, a menacing smile on his face. 

"Shhh," he whispers.

\----

Peggy awoke screaming from her nightmare. She bolted upright in her bed, chest heavy as she tried to catch her breath. She felt cold beads of sweat trickle down her forehead and she shivered violently. 

Almost instantly, there were arms wrapped around her and she heard a soft, cooing voice. 

"Shhh, Peggy. It was only a dream. You're safe now," the woman's voice crooned. Peggy recognized her mothers voice along with her scent.

"Mom?" she asked timidly, her voice cracked and strained. 

"Yes. Shhh, shhh, I'm here," her mom hushed her gently. 

Peggy was confused, when did her mom get there? But suddenly she didn't care because she was just overwhelmingly grateful that she was there and she was safe. Peggy let out a shaky breath and fell into her mother's arms, sobbing and burying her face in her mother's chest.

"Shhh, baby," hushed her mother's soft voice. "Everything is ok. Shhh." 

But nothing was ok. Nothing was ok at all! Everything was wrong, everything about it was wrong! Peggy felt her heart start to beat faster as she panicked. Her breathing quickened as images flashed across her mind over and over again.

She couldn't stand it anymore. She had let all the fear and horror and humiliation bottle up in inside her and now it was threatening to explode and destroy her. She couldn't handle this alone like she had thought she could. Even with Angelica and Eliza there, it was still too much. She sobbed loudly as she realized she would have to tell her mother. It was the only way to move past this.

"Mom," she choked out. Her mother just squeezed her tighter. She didn't understand... but Peggy still had to tell her.

"Mom, everything's not ok!" she blurted out before she couldn't.

"What's wrong Peggy?" her mother asked softly, pulling away from the hug to stare at her with a worried expression.

Peggy didn't want to have to look her mother in the eye when she told her, so she stared at her lap instead. She took a deep, shaky breath. She could do this.

"Mom, something happened..." she gulped to try and get rid of the large lump in her throat. "Something bad... really bad."

Her throat contracted again and she started shaking. She was so scarred, so scarred of what her mother would think, what her mother would say. She knew her mom loved her and would do anything to protect her, but she didn't want her to think that it was her fault. She knew it wasn't her fault.

"Peggy, you're frightening me. What happened?" her mother asked in a hushed, worried tone.

Peggy clenched her fists and summoned all her strength. She took another breath and steadied herself. She will get through this.

"I was at Maria's house... a couple months ago..." she started. "We were baking cookies... she went to go check on them while I changed in her room."

Peggy chanced it, she glanced up at her mother who was looking at her with attentive and worried eyes, although they seemed a little confused too. Her own face broke and she let out another sob. It was too hard.

But she had to tell someone. She needed help. She couldn't do this alone anymore. She shut her eyes tight and just tried to spit the rest of the story out.

"And then Maria's boyfriend came in. James, the one who's in college." she said, her voice horse and higher pitcher than normal. She was practically wheezing in order to get air into her lungs. Her mother suddenly reached out and grabbed her hands, squeezing them tightly in her own. Peggy opened her eyes and looked up at her mom. She gulped and felt a tear roll down her cheek.

"Mommy... he- he-"

Her mother looked as though she already knew what Peggy was about to say. She was on the verge of tears, her face twisted in a sort of sadness that was pained. She shook her head as if to please say it wasn't what she thought it was. 

"He raped me mommy."

Her mother collapsed. She sobbed loudly and shook her head vigorously, muttering, "No. no, not my poor baby. Not my poor baby girl, no. No!"

She sobbed again and pulled Peggy tight into her arms. Peggy collapsed as well, allowing the sobs to wrack her body once more. 

"I'm so sorry, Peggy! My Peggy! Oh lord. Why? Why lord? Why my little girl why?" 

They stayed like that until both of them calmed down a bit, but it told awhile. Peggy calmed down first and let her mother cradle her and kiss her head. 

"Why didn't you tell me? When did it happen? Does Maria know?" her mother asked softly after she had calmed down.

"Yes, and Angelica and Eliza know. I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I was so scarred and humiliated and ashamed. I didn't know what to do!" Peggy whispered.

"Oh, Peggy. It's ok, I understand. I'm just glad you told me. How did it happen?" 

Peggy gulped and told her mother what had happened, exactly. She said how she'd been changing and James had come in, drunk and disordered. She said how he'd forced himself on her, thinking she was Maria. And finally, how he'd kept going even after he knew she wasn't Maria.

"Maria tried to help but the door was locked. She went to call the police but by then, James ran out and stopped her. And then he left the building. She didn't know what to do so she called Angelica and she came to pick me up. I don't remember any of that because I passed out after- after it- happened."

The rest of the night her mother held her close. Peggy finally felt like she could breathe again. She felt safe again in her mother's arms and she felt like everything was going to be ok for the first time in a long time.

In the morning, her mom let her stay home from school. She stayed home from work as well and they watched movies and made waffles. Her mother promised she would take care of things and that they would bring justice to James Reynolds. Peggy agreed. She was done hiding and crying, and now she wanted him to pay the price for his actions.

Because boys will not just "be boys". Boys will be held accountable for their actions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so basically Peggy has a nightmare about the night it happened but she wakes up before James Reynolds (he is Maria's boyfriend who's in college. She lives in his apartment because her mom is dead and her dad is abusive, but her boyfriend isn't any better) rapes her. But it actually happened to her so it's like a flashback through a nightmare.
> 
> Anyways, her mom is sleeping next to her in bed when she wakes up (Eliza told her Peggy wasn't feeling well and she decided to lay next to her in case she was sick in the middle of the night) and Peggy realizes she has to tell her what happened to her. So she tells her mom and it's all very sad and dramatic but then her mom understands and lets her stay home from school the next day. They have like a girls day in and her and her mom agree that James Reynolds needs to go down. 
> 
> And then that's it! I hoped you enjoyed the chapter and I really hope my warnings and explanations helped. Alrighty, see you guys next Monday!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't even know guys... but it's funny... I think?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! It's Monday and I'm back even though it's kind of late. Well, I guess depending on where you are in the world it could be REALLY late... but according to eastern time it's just a little late. Ok I'll stop rambling and you can just read the chapter. See ya next week!

Alexander had come to a realization, and for once it didn't involve politics. No, this was definitely not about politics. He had first started to notice it during debate team on Monday morning. He was debating with Jefferson, as usual, but something had felt off. He had been sure to use all of his clever snarky remarks and made an effort to press all of Jefferson's buttons, yet the man somehow refused to give Alex a satisfying reaction. It was like he had just given up on arguing with Alex, which was strange because he ALWAYS seemed ready to argue with Alex.

The same thing happened in class later that day, and then for the entire rest of the week. And for the longest time, Alex couldn't figure out why. Why was Jefferson acting so weird all of a sudden? He thought over everything that went down before Thomas started acting this way. And of course, there was the kiss, but he had been completely fine after that, well by fine Alex meant completely furious and ready to kill him. Still, that was better than this silent, disappearing act he was pulling. 

Even now, FOUR weeks after the party, Thomas wouldn't quite meet his eye. They were debating as usual, up on the two tiny podiums the debate team set up, but Thomas wasn't really debating, he was just falling into the flow of arguing with Alexander, something they had both become accustomed to. Thomas wasn't trying to win, he wasn't even trying to do well. Alexander had won long ago and they both knew it, and apparently so did the rest of the debate team.

"Alright, Hamilton wins... again," the man Alexander had come to know as John Jay said. He shot Thomas a smug smirk, hoping to get a reaction. He got none. Thomas just rolled his eyes and clambered back down to his seat. Alex fumed quietly and stalked back to his own seat. This was so unfair! He had won, he should be happy! But noooo, Thomas just had to be all quiet and cause him to become even more annoyed than he was when Thomas actually argued with him. He was beginning to miss the Virginian's annoyingly challenging arguments and infuriatingly large ego, a thought which made him want to vomit but was true nonetheless.

"Ok! Don't forget we have our first tournament the week after Christmas break," Jay informed everyone. A girl with glasses and thick dread locks pulled into a ponytail squealed excitedly. "I can't wait! And Christmas is only two weeks away! Wow, so exciting!" she said, her voice animated. The rest of the group collectively sighed, they all had long been exposed to her enthusiasm and perkiness, and they were all just the tiniest bit sick of it, especially when it was so early in the morning. 

"Yes, Alana, it's all very exciting," Jay drawled. If she even noticed the sarcasm in his voice, she didn't show it, and instead she continued to beam happily. Jay took a minute to compose himself before continuing. "So, just don't forget about that," he said. Alexander suddenly got an idea. He leaned over to his right and whispered to Thomas, "How could we forget when Alana never shuts up about it?" Thomas snorted under his breath, a small smile forming on his lips. A wave of pride washed over Alexander. He had gotten him to smile! He smiled happily to himself and turned back to Jay.

"Ok, that's it guys. See you next Monday," he finished. And with that, everyone left. Thomas didn't though, and neither did Alexander. He stared down the Virginian and his curly black afro, said man making an effort not to notice him staring, but he eventually gave in.

"What's your problem?" Thomas snapped, finally, finally, turning to meet Alexander's eyes. Thomas looked more than annoyed, and Alex revelled in the glory of finally getting a reaction out of him after four fucking weeks. He shrugged and turned back around. "Nothing," he said simply, "just was wondering why you let me win today." Thomas barked a bitter laugh and stood up abruptly.

"You wish," he spat before turning and walking towards the door. Hamilton's heart fell, as well as his expression. Just when Thomas had finally started to bite back, he was running away again. He wanted to follow, wanted to chase after him and smack him back to his senses. He wanted to do anything to get the fight back in his debating partner because, for some horrible reason, he missed him. He missed the arguments, nobody could match his wit quite like Thomas could. He missed the snarky remarks and the shallow insults and the eye rolls and the exasperated scoffs and the smug smirks. 

But he didn't get up. He didn't run after Thomas, he wasn't some sad puppy pining after his owner. If Thomas wanted to be alone, he could be alone. Screw him if he didn't want to debate with him anymore, Alexander could surely find a new partner, even though none of them would be half as good. 

"So, Jefferson can really be a piece of shit, huh?" someone said from behind Hamilton, startling him and causing him to jump in surprise. He whipped his head around to find himself face to face with one of the other guys from the debate team. Alex tried hopelessly to connect a name to the man with the dirty blonde hair and the icy blue eyes. Sea.... Seamus? No...

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Alexander finally gave in and asked, although he sounded less sorry and more annoyed. The man chuckled and pulled up a chair beside him. "It's alright, I wasn't expecting our top debater to know my name, even if there are only twelve of us. I'm Samuel Seabury," he said with a light laugh, sticking out his hand. Alex shook it warily, eyebrows knitted together in suspicion.

"And why are you talking to me?" Alex questioned, voice still rather cold and unwelcoming. Samuel laughed again, a thing Alex assumed he did when he was uncomfortable, although he appeared to be relaxed right then. "Just thought you could use someone to talk to other than that Southern motherfucker," he said with a shrug, a slight British lilt becoming audible in his voice. Alexander narrowed his eyes, something didn't sit right with this guy.

"Jefferson may be a prick but at least he's got a brain to match his abnormally large ego," he quipped, daring Seabury to argue with the look of pure disdain on his face. Seabury didn't, he only chuckled that light, tauntingly laid back chuckle. "I suppose there's some bright side to that," he said. Alexander eyed him suspiciously, still not feeling right about talking to this man. Samuel seemed to notice as he stood up and stretched his back. 

"Well, I should be going now," he said. Alexander was just about to bade him a cold hearted farewell when he spoke again. "I also wanted to invite you to a party my dear friend George King is throwing," he continued, casually pulling out a small white invitation from his back pocket and handing it over to Hamilton. "You're welcome to come," he said while flashing a charming smile. Alex took the invitation but didn't drop his suspicions.

"I'll think about it," he said slowly. Samuel smiled. "I hope to see you there, Hamilton," he said before walking off. Just before he got to the door, he turned around again. Alexander wanted to shout, what now? but held his tongue. "Oh, and you're allowed to bring as many guests as you please," he said, an odd and mysterious look on his face. And then he was out the door and gone.

Hamilton blinked in surprise, replaying the odd conversation in his head. Had this stranger just invited him to an elite party? He glanced at the invitation.

A Winter's Ball  
Hosted by George King  
December 19th, 9pm EST. at the Redcoat fraternity house.

It was being held at a frat house? This was a frat boy party? No wonder Samuel had looked so snobby and pretentious, and Alex hadn't a doubt that this George King guy was any less horrible. He instinctively shuddered and stuffed the invitation away in his pocket, hoping to forget about it. There was no was he was going to a frat party. Fraternities were everything he hated about the male species stuffed into one, horrendous blob of khaki shorts and polo shirts. He shuddered again. 

He filed the memory into one of the many drawers in the back of his mind for further evaluation later. Right now, he had a certain pompous asshole to track down and annoy until he gave him a suitable reaction. 

Unfortunately, he had to wait until after class to approach Thomas since he had walked back in a minute before class started. And even more unfortunately, Thomas had rushed out and disappeared right after class so there was no way of talking to him. Alexander wanted to scream. How was it that Thomas managed to avoid him so easily but whenever Alex wanted to avoid him- BAM!- there he was. 

But he wasn't going to let this go. He was prepared to annoy Jefferson until he snapped. He was ready to do whatever it took. 

Alex knew Thomas had English with Lafayette next so- and NO this wasn't stalking- he waited outside their class until it was over. He could say he was just waiting for Laf, which he was, so really there was nothing sketchy or morally wrong about this at all. And if he just happened to run into Jefferson after class then so be it. He was just innocently waiting for his friend, he wasn't waiting for Thomas that's for sure. 

Unless that's what he told himself until the door opened and out walked Thomas, then he realized that that was exactly who he was waiting for. 

Thomas was having an animated conversation with a certain French someone who Alex was supposed to be waiting for, and the two of them were speaking rapidly in French. Alex blinked. He didn't know Jefferson spoke French. But he didn't have time to dwell on that small fact because just then, Lafayette noticed him.

"Alexander!" they exclaimed in joyous surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Alex watched as Thomas' head snapped to look at him, an irritated look already on his face. But there was something else in his expression, something in his eyes that seemed off to Alex. He couldn't quite place what it was, only that it looked uncharacteristically different, and that set off an uncomfortable feeling in his own gut.

"Yeah, why are you here, Hamilton?" Thomas snapped, placing his hands on his hips and cocking his head to the side like the utter diva that he was. "Have you really resorted to stalking? I have to admit that's the one thing I put above you but I guess I was wrong."

Thomas' words caught flame in Alex's stomach and he nearly growled at him. But at least he was speaking to him.

"Sorry Jefferson but if I was a stalker you'd be the last person on my list, right after Vice President Mike Pence," Alex quipped back angrily.

Thomas rolled his eyes and dropped his arms. He started to walk away. Again.

"For your information," Alex started, grabbing at Jefferson's wrist so he couldn't get away. Thomas whipped his head around and glared at Hamilton's hand on his wrist with so much hatred and disgust it would startle even the most evil of Disney villains.

"I'm sick and tired of this fight or flight game we're playing," Hamilton spat, his fingernails sinking deeper into the flesh on Thomas' wrist, causing him to almost yelp in pain. 

"What are you talking about?" Thomas asked exasperatedly, trying not to let his voice crack from how much pain Hamilton was causing him. 

"I'm talking about how you've been acting recently! It's like you keep running away from me- or like you're trying to avoid me!" 

"Well, Hamilton, that's because I. Don't. Like. You!" 

"But you've always not liked me! And that didn't stop you from arguing with me before so what happened?! Did I do something wrong?"

Thomas felt a pang at the chest, for what he didn't know, but he felt it.

"Let go of me," he muttered as he tried to pry his wrist out of Hamilton's death grip.

"No!" 

His grip only tightened and Thomas allowed himself to wince in pain because- damn, the little shit had sharp nails.

"I'm not leaving until I get a valid answer! What is this about? Is it about the kiss? Because seriously-"

Thomas literally squawked in indignation.

"Are you kidding me, Hamilton?" he asked rhetorically, sneering at the infuriating man who was still latched onto his wrist.

"Well that's the only possible answer I can think of!" Alex shot back. Thomas tried to wiggle free again, but if Alex noticed he must have decided to pay no mind to it and continued his rant.

"I kissed you and that made you uncomfortable because you're not gay, I get it! But with the way you've been behaving these past few weeks I wouldn't just say you're not gay, I'd say you're straight up homophobic!" 

Thomas gaped. "What?" he sputtered, a horrified look on his face. Did Hamilton really think he was homophobic? Was he acting that terribly? He felt something tighten in his chest, something swell up in his throat, something start to tear up in his eyes. He continued to listen to Hamilton's rant and let the cruel words hit him like a truck.

"Well you seem to hate me even more now! More than just for my political views or whatever! Now you hate me because I kissed you and you think that's unnatural or whatever other shit reason homophobes think the same gender shouldn't kiss!"

Alex was turning visibly red now, but that didn't stop him from continuing.

"I should've known, really, that you were such a fucking biggot! I should've known you-"

"HAMILTON FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SHUT UP!" Thomas screamed.

Alex blinked and recoiled in shock at his outburst, and actually did what Thomas had told him to and shut his mouth so tightly you could here his teeth click together. Thomas took a breath before finally snatching his wrist away.

"I'm not fucking homophobic you idiot!" he seethed, leaning in close to Alexander's face. His eyes were wide and almost scared, and Thomas didn't like that he was making Alexander scared, despite how much he hated him, so he leaned back.

Thomas swallowed the huge lump in his throat and sent a prayer to whatever god was listening because- shit- he couldn't believe that saying this out loud could still be this hard, even when he was hundreds of miles away from his father.

"I'm gay."

The words hung in the air. Thomas felt uneasy, but also relieved. He watched as Hamilton stared at him. He could practically see the wheels spinning in Hamilton's head, trying in vain to wrap his mind over the whole situation.

"Prove it," Hamilton ordered like the fucking 7 year old he was.

Thomas scoffed a laugh because, really, how immature could he be?

"What, you want me to kiss you again?" he asked sarcastically.

Thomas was scared when Hamilton didn't answer, but he was more scared when he saw something light in Hamilton's eyes as he asked this. Thomas shook his head and laughed bitterly. Then his eyes settled on someone who he had completely forgotten was there, someone who might be the solution to his current situation.

He turned back to glare at Hamilton. "Fine. You want proof? Here's your proof."

Thomas walked the three paces it took to get to Lafayette who was bewilderedly observing the whole scene from the sidelines. He softly touched the side of their face, gently caressing their jaw and part of their cheek in his hand. He placed his other hand gently on the dip in Lafayette's neck to their shoulders. He moved quickly but not harshly, being gentle as he quickly licked his lips and leaned down.

"Wha-"

Lafayette's words were caught in Thomas' mouth as he pressed their lips together. Thomas let his eyes flutter shut, even though he knew Lafayette's were most likely blown wide in shock. He could feel the poor person tense underneath him and basically turn to stone. He felt slightly guilty but he also had a point to prove so he couldn't take it back now. He pushed Lafayette into the wall that was behind them and deepened the kiss, moving one hand into their hair.

Alexander watched as Thomas pushed the startled Lafayette into the wall. Watched as he tugged at their hair and moved his hand down to their chest and rested it there. He heard his breath catch as he felt a sharp pang stab at his chest. His gut wrenched and his throat swelled and yet he couldn't look away.

Thomas moved away and broke the kiss, smirked down at Lafayette (who was still in complete shock) and backed away from them. He turned back to see Alexander looking utterly shocked and... hurt?

Thomas pushed the thought away and scowled, crossed his arms, and glared.

"See, Hamilton? I have no problem kissing people with the same genitals as me. So maybe I just have a problem with YOU," he spat the last word out like it was venom. Then he turned to Lafayette who was still collapsed against the wall in a daze.

"Well, that kiss was a nice walk down memory lane, Gil, but I'll give you a warning next time," he said smoothly, adding a wink for good measure.

"Adieu!" he sang as he turned on his heels and walked away.

Alex was left staring into space. He felt absolutely ruined by Thomas' words. They still rang in his head. 'Maybe I just have a problem with YOU!' He shuddered.

"Are you ok, Alexander?" he heard a soft voice ask and felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He suddenly felt the need to fill with rage but where his fire would normally ignite, it had been doused and stepped down on by the sudden ache in his chest.

"I'm fine," he squeaked, his voice tight and small.

"Alexander," Laf replied, all too knowingly. 

"I have to go!" he cracked as he shoved Lafayette away and ran off in the opposite direction. Even before he got back to his dorm he could feel the tears stinging his eyes. God, what was wrong with him?

\-----

"Thank you so much for meeting me," Maria said softly from across the Starbucks table. Peggy shrugged and picked at the pealing paint on her chair. 

"I'm on my break anyways," she said, voice soft. She heard Maria sigh but she didn't dare look up and meet her eyes. Peggy could only assume the look she had on her face and she really didn't feel like being pitied right then. 

Maria grabbed Peggy's fidgeting hands and forced her to stay still. "Relax," she breathed calmingly. Peggy looked up out of habit, her breath catching as she looked into Maria's eyes. They were huge and beautiful, as they always were, and they took her breath away, as they always did.

"I'm sorry for what I said," Maria said, searching deep into Peggy's eyes now that she had them locked in her gaze. Peggy stared back in awe. 

"I know," she said, still lost in the magnetic pull that was Maria's eyes. 

"Do you forgive me?" Maria asked, nervousness in her voice. Peggy squeezed her hands. 

"How could I not?" she replied.

Maria's breath caught and her eyes lit up with hope and joy, although the rest of her didn't seem to change. But Peggy could tell, she knew all of different looks Maria conveyed through her eyes. Peggy smiled, Maria smiled back, and they stayed like that for a moment or two, holding each others hands and gazing lovingly at one another. 

"I think I need to take care of something in the back," Peggy said suddenly, sly smile curling on her lips. "Could you help me?" she asked sweetly, batting innocent eyelashes, even though Maria knew full well that they were far from innocent. Maria mirrored the mischievous grin and winked. "Of course I can," she replied. Peggy smirked and stood up, not letting go of Maria's hand as she pulled her around the table and into the back room.

Once there, they wasted no time. Peggy grabbed Maria by the shoulders and slammed her into the wall. Maria gasped and Peggy leaned in, slotting their lips together. She kissed Maria softly yet firmly, pushing her against the wall as she did. Maria responded by grabbing at Peggy's waist and pulling her in closer, connecting their hips as she did. Peggy moved her hands from Maria's shoulders and onto the back of her neck, tangling one in the depths of her tinted auburn hair. 

Peggy moved her lips on top of Maria's, deepening the kiss. She flicked out her tongue and licked Maria's lips, tasting the red lipstick on them. She moved down and bit Maria's bottom lip, causing said woman to gasp. Peggy moved back up and this time slid her tongue all the way in her lovers mouth, tasting her lipstick and smelling her perfume. A moan escaped Maria and her hands slid lower to rest on Peggy's ass. Peggy smirked against Maria's lips and thrusted her hips forward, leaning more of her weight onto Maria who moaned deeply. Peggy slid one hand out and rested it on top of Maria's hand. She pushed Maria's hand down and Maria got the hint and tightened her grip on Peggy's ass. 

"That's better," Peggy breathed as she slid her mouth away for a second. Maria smirked and squeezed Peggy's ass harder, causing the girl gasp and rock her hips forward into Maria's. And then she was attacking her again, this time with kisses along the side of her neck. Maria giggled at the touch, but Peggy wanted more of a reaction. She slid her hand back up into Maria's hair and tugged on it, hard, causing her head to tilt to the left and exposing her neck more so Peggy could bite and suck. 

Maria gasped and then moaned and then nearly shrieked at Peggy's move. She felt Maria fall apart underneath her, slouching against the wall, her knees becoming weak. "Oh god," she breathed as Peggy nipped at her collar bone. Peggy gave her hair another hard tug and earned herself another satisfying moan. She grinned, fairly fond of herself. She seemed to be good at this sort of thing, or at least she was when she was with Maria. 

"Wait- Peggy," she breathed, removing her hands from her ass. "What?" Peggy asked, coming back up to be level with Maria. 

"We probably shouldn't be doing this here," she said with a wicked smile, her cheeks flushed and her eyes dazed. Peggy smirked and leaned in closer. 

"Why? Afraid we'll get caught?" she whispered, breath hot against Maria's cheek. Maria sighed and nearly preened at the feeling and the sound of Peggy's voice, soft and hot and so so close. 

"No, but you should be. You could get fired," she replied, looking up into Peggy's eyes. She shrugged. "You're worth it," she said with a dazzling smile. Maria sighed and held Peggy's face in her hands. Peggy's eyes fluttered shut and her forehead came to rest on Maria's. They stayed like that for a minute, eyes closed, foreheads touching, breathing heavily. They held each other for what seemed like forever, but was really only a few moments. And then they split apart and walked out separately so as to not arouse suspicion. Though, the obvious bruise on Maria's neck would likely do that all by itself. 

\-----

"He's just being so infuriating!" Alexander whined. 

"Well isn't he always like that?" John asked from his place on the floor. Alexander had taken the liberty to lie out on John's bed, leaving him to sit alone on the hard floor. 

"No! Well yes, but this time it's different!" Alexander complained. John sighed. This was the absolute last thing he wanted to be talking about but it also seemed to be the only think on Alexander's mind so what other choice did he have?

"Maybe Jefferson's just trying a new tactic to get you upset," John suggested. "You know, ignore you until you stop trying to purposely annoy him." Alex hummed in thought as he stared at the ceiling. 

"That could be it," he said. "Those psychology classes are really paying off, aren't they?" he asked rhetorically as he turned to face John. He shrugged and said, "I guess."

"So what should I do then?" Alexander asked, rolling into his side so he could look at John. And if John's heart swelled at the way Alexander was looking down at him, perched on his own bed, that was his own business. 

"I dunno. Maybe just ignore him back. You know, give him a taste of his own medicine kinda thing?" John said with another shrug. Alex raised an eyebrow and sighed dramatically, flopping back onto his back. 

"You're not being very helpful, you know," he said. John felt the heat rise to his face. 

"Well I'm sorry if I have better things to do than plot against Jeffershit all day!" John snapped. Alex sat up and looked at him with a surprised- and slightly hurt- expression, but he didn't let that show for more than a second and replaced it with anger instead. 

"Well then why are you still talking to me about it?" he asked, voice a little harder than he was going for. 

"You're the one in my room!" John pointed out. Alexander huffed and jumped off the bed. "Well then, I guess I'll just leave!" he snapped. 

"Fine with me!" John yelled. 

"Good!" Alex yelled back. 

"Good!" John repeated, matching him in volume. 

The two stared down each other angrily for another moment before Alexander scoffed and marched to the door, flinging it open and then slamming it shut.

John winced at the loud sound. He then let out a staggered breath. He stared at the ground from where he sat on the floor, not in the mood to stand up. Why couldn't he have just kept his temper? Why did he have to go and chase Alexander off? Why was he always self sabotaging his chances with Alexander? Why did he keep putting himself through so much pain? He didn't know.

Eventually, Lafayette returned. "Why are you on the floor?" they asked. John shrugged. 

"Why are you coming back so late?" John asked. They stared down each other. 

"Fair enough," Laf finally said before busying themselves with whatever monstrous stack of papers they had on their desk. John got up, finally, and got ready for bed. 

"Is it alright if I keep the light on?" Laf asked when John climbed into bed. He nodded his answer and Lafayette murmured something like a thank you. It's not like John would sleep anyways, not with the thought of Alexander on his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (If you can spot the reference to another musical I'll give you a prize!)


	14. chapter 14- wow I can't believe we're already on chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning, the following chapter is full of cuteness and fluff so sweet that your teeth may rot out of your mouth after reading it. Side effects from reading this chapter are, tooth cavaties, huge smiles, a general feeling of happiness, and a long lasting love for the ship 'mullette'. 
> 
> This is the second mullette interlude. I repeat, this is the second mullette interlude!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha yeah I know I'm a dork.
> 
> BUT this chapter is super cute and I love it so much. It doesn't really have anything to do with the plot but it shows the development of mullette (I think they like each other shhhhh). 
> 
> Anyways, after this it's back to the plot and the drama! Things will actually get more exciting I promise. I think this fic is actually a little more than halfway done. I'm thinking maybe around 25 chapters and it'll be over. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Lafayette was lying on their bed in their dorm room listening to music. Their eyes were closed, their earphones were in, their finger tapped lightly along with the beat. They were attempting to relax since they were all but one assignment away from a full blown mental breakdown. Studies and school had always come so easily to them and they were used to being on top of their schoolwork, but college was a completely different story. Now, they were struggling to keep their mental health intact, well, what was left of it anyways.

They laid there and breathed deeply, letting the steady beat of the music calm their heart rate. They listened to the lyrics, which were in English for once, and tried to focus on only that, not their pile of homework. Their mind filled with the buzz of the music and they allowed themselves to relax, the muscles in their neck and shoulders releasing. Slowly, they calmed down, and all that was left was their music. And then their moment of peace ended.

They shot up in their bed when they heard the door to their dorm room burst wide open. They blinked in surprise when they saw Hercules shuffle in, his foot holding the door open for him while his hands were full of large garment bags. He eventually made it inside, dropping his bags onto John's empty bed and letting the door swoosh shut behind him. Then, he turned and gave the poor, bewildered Laf an annoyed look.

"No no, please don't get the door for me Laf, my hands are completely full but I can still open it myself!" Herc drawled sarcastically. Lafayette just gaped at him, still in shock. Slowly, they pulled their earphones out and spoke. "I am sorry, I did not hear you knock..." they trailed off. 

Hercules rubbed his face and sighed in frustration. "It's ok..." he muttered, "I'm just hella stressed." Lafayette laughed at that. "Me too," they replied, gesturing to their desk full of scattered papers and books. Hercules glanced at it and winced. "That must suck," he grunted. Then he turned back to Laf, suddenly remembering why he was there. "Have you seen John?" he asked.

Lafayette shook their head, causing Hercules to groan in frustration. "Why?" they asked innocently. "Because he promised he would help me with this and now he's not answering his phone and I have no idea where he is!" Hercules nearly shouted in frustration. Lafayette recoiled and blinked in shock at his sudden outburst, to which Hercules apologized for right after. 

"Sorry," he muttered sheepishly, "I just really need to get this done." He collapsed onto John's bed, head hanging in his hands. A pang of pity shot through Lafayette. "Can I help?" they asked kindly. Hercules shook his head, but then he stopped. He picked up his head and stared at Laf, a look of hope in his eyes. "Actually..." he trailed off, a hint of mischief in their voice. Lafayette quirked an eyebrow questioningly.

Hercules stood up, picked up one of his bags, and stared at it thoughtfully. Then he turned to gaze at Lafayette, peering at them curiously. 

"You're probably about John's size, right?" he asked vaguely. Lafayette made a face at the odd question. "Why?" they asked tentatively, not quite sure what they were getting themselves into. Hercules eyes gleamed happily and a curious smirk edged onto his lips. 

"I need someone to model these outfits for me," he said, gesturing to the garment bags, "and John was supposed to do it for me but I obviously can't get a hold of him, and I need to get this done today so..." he trailed off, smirking suggestively. Lafayette still looked puzzled. "Sooo?" they asked. Hercules pulled a pleading, puppy dog face. "So, would you please please please be my model???" he practically begged. 

Lafayette laughed out loud and stared at Hercules incredulously. "Yeah right!" they exclaimed, snorting with laughter. 

"PLEEEAAAASE!" Hercules whined, looking absolutely pathetic. Lafayette gaped at him, all the humour in the situation being replaced with shock. "Hercules! I am not a model!" they exclaimed in bewilderment.

"Why not? You're hot and you have the body for it," Hercules said. Lafayette felt their face heat up as they stared blankly at Hercules. Did he just call them hot? 

"What?" they managed to choke out, voice tight. Hercules smirked but then instantly changed his expression to one of pleading again. "Please please please please please please please please," he repeated incessantly. He even stepped right up to Laf and took their hands in his. 

"Please please please please please," he continued, lifting a reluctant Lafayette off their bed. Lafayette opened their mouth to protest but stopped once Hercules gave him that look. That look of a desperate and exhausted college student, Laf's heart filled with pity. 

"Fine," they sighed, bowing their head in shame and resignation. "Yes! Thank you! I really owe you one!" Hercules cried for joy. Lafayette went to answer him but before they could, they were being pulled out the door.

"Wait! Where are we going?" Laf asked as Herc pulled them out and down the hall, his garment bags in his other hand. "My classroom, they have a thing set up for photo shoots," he replied over his shoulder. Lafayette felt their stomach fill with nerves. A photo shoot? That sounded more legit than Lafayette had thought. They had thought it would just be them and Hercules in their dorm room or his apartment or something, not a whole photo shoot with the big white screen and the many many cameras on them. 

But sure enough, that was exactly what was waiting for them when they arrived at Hercules classroom. In one corner was a huge white sheet set up as well as a large camera facing it on a tripod. It was grand, but still not as big as Laf had thought it would be, to their relief. And there wasn't anyone else there so at least their embarrassment would only be seen by Hercules. They eyed the photo screen warily as Herc pulled them further inside the classroom to a table where he dropped his bags on. 

"Ok," he said, rummaging through a bag. Lafayette watched skeptically as Hercules pulled out item after item of clothing. "Here," he said, dropping a pile of clothes into Lafayette's arms. They raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Put it on!" Herc insisted impatiently. Lafayette looked around the room. "Where?" they asked, not seeing a bathroom anywhere. Hercules sighed. "I'll turn around," he said simply, before doing just that. 

Lafayette blinked in shock. They went to say something but nothing came out. Were they just supposed to change right there? In the middle of the classroom? They stared at the back of Hercules' head incredulously. "Umm," was all they could get out. "Come on Laf! It's not a big deal!" Hercules whined, still facing the other way. Laf exhaled in frustration and rolled their eyes. "Fine! But if you look I will kill you," they muttered begrudgingly. Hercules laughed out loud. "Don't worry, I'm not a perv," he said.

"Where have I heard you say that before?" Laf asked as they took off their shirt. Hercules shrugged. "Dunno," he replied. Lafayette pulled on the other shirt, which was a simple white collared shirt. Silence filled the room for a minute, and all that could be heard was Laf as they got dressed. 

"In the bathroom that one morning," Hercules said after awhile of thinking about it. "Huh?" Lafayette asked as they pulled on the pants with an interesting design stitched into them that went all the way up the right leg. 

"The morning after I crashed in your bed," Herc explained, "I went to the bathroom and you had just showered. I told you I wasn't a perv and you could change while I was in the stall." 

Lafayette remembered of course, and they felt the heat rise to their cheeks at the memory. "Oh..." they trailed off, not really sure what else to say to that. "Yeah, sorry about that by the way. I kinda just barged in on you..." Hercules added, almost as an afterthought. He could feel his face reddening now too. "Do not worry," Laf replied, rushing to pull on the suit jacket, also with an interesting pattern on the right sleeve.

"Ok, I am done," Laf said as they smoothed out the wrinkled on the jacket. Herc turned around. "Hmm," he said, a concentrated look on his face. Lafayette felt themselves blush. "What's wrong?" they asked, nerves fluttering in their stomach. "It's just- here," Herc said as he walked up to Lafayette. He started tugging on the sleeves, the shirt, the cuffs, smoothing it out and fixing it around Laf. They froze as Hercules touched them all over, his brow furrowing in concentration as he fixed up the suit.

"Ok, that's better, but," Herc muttered. "But?" Laf asked nervously. Hercules went back to the bags on the table and pulled out a black tie. "No," he said and threw it back in. Lafayette raised an eyebrow. "Ah!" he exclaimed as he pulled out a light purple tie. Lafayette raised their other eyebrow and laughed a little. "What? This'll go well," Herc insisted as he walked back up to Laf. He wrapped the tie around their neck and Lafayette held their breath as he tied it expertly. "I could have done that," they whispered.

Hercules didn't even hear, or if he did he just decided not to answer. "Ok, now come," he ordered, grabbing Lafayette's hand and dragging them to the photo screen. Hercules then walked back to the camera. 

"Ok, now pose!" he ordered, situating himself behind the camera. Lafayette gaped at him, light humour playing across their face. "How?" they asked, laughter bubbling up from their words. Hercules shrugged. "Just do whatever feels natural," he said simply. 

Lafayette shifted and played with the button on the jacket nervously. "Ok," they muttered, nerves swirling around inside of them. They took a deep breath to calm themselves, and then they tried something. They stuck their hands in the pockets of the pants and shifted their weight to one leg. They relaxed their shoulders and tilted their head up, staring at the camera with a slight smirk on their face. The camera flashed a couple of times and Lafayette blinked from the sudden blinding light. "Don't blink!" Hercules ordered.

Lafayette rolled their eyes, but instead of replying with a snarky remark, they struck another pose. And then another one after that. Eventually, they were trying all sorts of poses, laughing along with Hercules as they did. 

"I feel foolish," they said through laughter as Hercules snapped the camera. "Don't! You're doing great! Better than John ever could," Hercules said. Lafayette snorted at that, they had to be honest, they didn't think John would be the kind of person to model. But then again, they didn't peg themselves as a model either and look where they were now.

"Ok ok, that's enough! We need the other outfit now," Hercules exclaimed excitedly as he rushed to get the other garment bag. Lafayette changed into the other outfit (black and white checkered patterned pants with an intricately woven sweater and a red scarf) and stepped back onto the screen, exercising a few different poses than before, giving it a more casual feel to fit the more casual outfit. Lafayette and Hercules laughed as they spent the next twenty minutes taking tons of pictures and adjusting lighting and poses now and again.

"Ok, that's probably good. I need to take lots of pictures because I'm nit exactly good at photography. But I'm sure at least one of these is good enough," Hercules said eventually. Lafayette smirked and placed their hands on their hips. "I'm sure they are all perfect because no camera can ever make ME look bad," they quipped, posing dramatically. Hercules turned red and started to laugh nervously. Lafayette raised an eyebrow at him. 

"Ok, calm down it wasn't that funny," they said to him as they walked past to get their clothes, Hercules following behind.

"Wait- what is this?" Laf asked as they took out a piece of fabric that they hadn't seen before from one of the bags. They saw Hercules blush and fail to answer the question, so Lafayette took matters into their own hands and studied the piece of clothing. 

It was a skirt. Laf blinked in surprise. They hadn't thought Hercules would be the type to make woman's clothing. They felt the soft, silky fabric in their hands and studied the delicate plaid design stitched in throughout the whole skirt. They smoothed over the pleated ends of the skirt and eyed the three buttons on the top right side. They looked up at Hercules, obvious surprise still playing across their expression. They made sure to hide it away when they saw Herc rub the back of his neck shamefully, an embarrassed glow on his cheeks.

"I just made that 'cause I got this idea... it's not really for anything... I- I don't really know," he laughed sheepishly. Lafayette smiled and went back to staring at the skirt in their hands. "Well, it is beautiful," they said. "Really?" Hercules asked, choking on the word as if it had fell out unwillingly. Lafayette nodded, still not removing their eyes from the beautifully stitched patterns. 

And then, an idea sparked inside their mind. A sly smile curled on their lips as they looked back up at Hercules, who had noticed the mischievous expression and had a baffled one to match it. 

"What?" he asked tentatively. "Just go look at the photos for a minute," Laf replied vaguely, unveiled mischief lingering in their words. Herc hesitated, looking at his friend with the most confused and slightly terrified expression.

"Just go! It is a surprise!" Laf insisted, pushing Hercules away. Hercules ended up just sighed in resignation and went to walk himself to the camera. "And do not look until I say so!" Lafayette called from behind him. "Please don't ruin my clothes!" Hercules called back in reply. Lafayette laughed at this, but Hercules made it clear he wasn't joking. "I'm serious! It took me forever to make those and if you ruin them I WILL kill you," he threatened lamely.

"I won't! I won't!" Laf insisted. Hercules just rolled his eyes. He busied himself in looking at the pictures he had taken, just like Laf had ordered him to do. He suddenly found himself marvelling at the easy and relaxed composure of the Parisian. Lafayette just looked at home in the light of the camera, framed by the perfectly white surface behind them which seemed to make their brown skin glow. Hercules relished in their soft smile, their slight smirk, the tilt of their head, the edge of their jaw, the sparkle in their eyes...

"I'm done! Come look!" Lafayette called as if on cue, pulling Hercules out of the trance he had suddenly found himself in. He shook of all his previous thoughts and turned around. And then his heart stopped and his eyes widened at what he saw in front of him.

Lafayette was there, wearing the fucking skirt. And god forbid if they didn't look fucking amazing.

The grey skirt stopped half way down their thighs, a little too short and yet Hercules yearned for it to be even shorter. Laf had paired it with the white collared shirt from earlier, the top four buttons unbuttoned to reveal part of their chest and all of their neck. The sleeves had also been rolled up to their elbows, giving the outfit a more casual vibe. 

Hercules stared openly, gaping as Lafayette did a little twirl. He watched as the skirt rose a half inch higher as it caught wind. His mind had stopped working and all he could think was: Fuck.

"What do you think!" Laf sang as they skipped up to Hercules, perfectly joyous and thrilled with themselves. Hercules was pretty "thrilled" too.

"I- I, uhh..." he stuttered pathetically. He tried to pull his eyes away from the magnificent sight that was Lafayette in a fucking skirt but he just couldn't. 

Lafayette frowned and slouched their shoulders. "Is it too much?" they asked, disappointment hinting in their voice. Hercules jumped and shook his head vigorously.

"No!" he exclaimed. 'It's not enough,' his mind so happily supplied. "No! It's- it's just unexpected!" Herc tried to explain, although his attempt wasn't well received and Lafayette looked absolutely crushed. They let their expression fall and started to turn away, muttering, "I will go change."

"No- wait! Laf!" Herc nearly shouted, grabbing their hand frantically. Lafayette turned around, slightly shocked look on their face. Hercules sighed and decided just to be honest. 

"You look fucking amazing. Like- unexplainably amazing. Like, there aren't the words to explain how fucking amazing you look right now, holy shit," he rambled, face growing redder as he did. Lafayette blinked once, twice, three times in surprise. And then the most adorable smile inched it's way onto their lips. Hercules smiled too, and then his face lit up. "Come here," he said- well more like ordered- and he dragged Laf back to the screen. 

He flung the bewildered Lafayette in front of the camera and raced back behind it. "Hercules no!" Lafayette exclaimed, laughter bubbling their words. 

"Lafayette yes!" he replied as he snapped a picture. They laughed at Herc and in embarrassment as he continued to take pictures. Finally, they gave up and posed dramatically, one hand on their hip and the other up behind their head, finishing by making a kissing face towards the cameras, eyes shut softly.

"YAS QUEEN!" Hercules shouted as he snapped picture after picture. Lafayette burst into laughter and they struck another diva-like pose, this time with both hands in their hair, and then sliding down and coming to rest on the back of their neck, giving the camera a sultry look. Hercules erupted in laughter and the flash went off like crazy. 

Lafayette turned their torso to the side and looked over their shoulder at the camera, hands on their hips. They went to make another classic model face but then they were stopped by Hercules shouting "WAIT!" at the top of his lungs. Lafayette laughed in confusion as Hercules ran out from behind the camera and over to him.

Lafayette felt their breath hitch as Hercules walked right up to them, throwing his arms around their neck and coming so close that now their face was being pressed into the curve of his neck. Their eyes widened, their heart stopped, and all of a sudden their senses were being filled with the strong scent of Hercules' cologne, something that smelt of spice and- god it smelt so good. Lafayette found themselves closing their eyes and practically melting into the scent. They didn't even care what Hercules was doing, they just wanted to stay like that forever.

Suddenly, they felt two strong hands in their hair, pulling out the elastic holding it up, and then they knew exactly what Herc was doing. They pulled away from him and their hair bounced out of the elastic with a poof as it was torn away. Lafayette blushed and ran their hands through their hair as they stepped away from Hercules.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he stepped back closer to Laf. They shrugged and stared at the ground sheepishly. "I don't like my hair down," they said simply, although it seemed to Hercules like the reasoning behind it was more complex than that, he left it alone though. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know," he apologized softly. Lafayette shook their head, their curls bobbing and bouncing as they did. "It's ok," they whispered.

A silence filled the room, both of them unsure what to say. Finally, some sense filled Hercules and he thrust the hair elastic that was still in his hands back at Laf. "Here! Sorry, I-" 

"Thank you," Laf interrupted, taking the elastic quickly and redoing their hair. Hercules nodded and watched as they expertly tied their hair back up. The awkward silence descended upon them again and they were left staring at one another, both a little scared and unsure.

Then, the silence was interrupted as two girls barged into the classroom, babbling incessantly and causing Laf and Herc to jump in surprise. They all stopped and stared at each other, Laf and Herc at them and them at Laf and Herc. 

"Sorry, we didn't know anyone would be using this room today," one of the girls, the blonde, said.

"No problem, we're done anyway," Hercules replied, going over to the camera to get the pictures. The girls walked up to the screen as Laf started to put the clothes away. Hercules watched as the girls whispered and giggled to each other. He noticed how they looked at Lafayette. His eyes narrowed as he felt something hot and angry bubble inside him.

"I like your skirt," the brunette said, blushing profoundly as she pointed at Laf's skirt. Lafayette smirked and did a little twirl to show off, earning themselves giggles from both girls.

"Nice, yes? Hercules over there made it, I am simply the model," Laf explained, pointing at Hercules who was still across the room at the camera. "Well it looks good on you, and you can't say that about many boys who wear skirts," she replied, moving just a bit closer to Lafayette.

"Ah, yes well, thank you but I better change now anyways," Lafayette replied, smiling as they took their clothes and pushed past the girls. They winked just as they did, causing the brunette to turn bright red. Lafayette left to find a bathroom and the girls erupted into giggles as soon as they were gone. Hercules listened as they clutched to one another and spoke in hushed, rushed voices. 

"Oh my god he's so hot!"   
"I know! God damn I didn't know I could be so attracted to someone in a skirt! Am I a lesbian?"   
"I'm pretty sure the guy from that party last week would beg to differ."  
"Oh, hush up!"  
"No no, I can't believe him thinking you're a lesbian when you had his dick in your mouth an hour after meeting him!"  
"Shut up Heather! At least I didn't sleep with Ram Sweeney in high school!"  
"No, you slept with Kurt Kelly."  
"Yeah, and now I wanna sleep with this hot French guy."  
"Oh my god! You're so bad!"  
"I wonder if he's good in bed."  
"OH MY GOD HEATHER!"  
"Shhhh!"

The brunette shushed her blonde friend and they both ended up laughing. Hercules rolled his eyes. Were BOTH of them named Heather? He shuddered and went back to packing up his things. God, he wanted to get out of there.

"So? Are you gonna ask him out?" the blonde Heather asked. "Did you have a brain tumour for breakfast, Heather? Of course I am!" the brunette snapped. Hercules felt his insides twist. Why did he hate these girls so much? And why did he suddenly feel so protective of Laf? Laf- who had just walked back in the room! Shit! Hide them! Protect them at all costs from these crazy Heathers! 

"Hey," the brunette said as Lafayette walked past her. They stopped and smiled. "Hi," they replied, the skirt and shirt folded nicely and tucked under their arm. The brunette stepped closer and gazed at him flirtatiously. "So, I was wondering if-" 

"Sorry, he has to go now," Hercules interrupted, pushing Laf away. "What-" Laf started but was cut off as Herc pushed them backwards and they stumbled to catch their footing.

"Wait-" 

"Bye bye now!" Herc interrupted Heather as he finally managed to push Lafayette out of the classroom and into the hall, slamming the door shut behind him.

Lafayette gaped at him in shock, a hint of annoyance on their face, but Hercules didn't care because at least Laf was safe now. 

"What the hell was that?" Laf exclaimed as Hercules started to walk away. They followed. "We gotta get going is all," he replied. Lafayette let out an annoyed huff. "I do not believe that," they snapped. Hercules stopped and turned around, annoyance and anger suddenly overcoming him as well. 

"Look, I was protecting you! Those girls were crazy! You should've heard what they were saying in there when you left-" 

"What?" Laf cut him off. They laughed bitterly and looked up in annoyance. "I do not need 'protecting' Hercules!" they snapped. 

"No, but-" 

"No! You are not my boyfriend you do not get to protect me!" 

Hercules felt like he had been shot. He stepped backwards, away from Laf.

"And- and why did you call me that?!" Laf asked, their breathing quickening. 

"Call you what?" Herc asked. 

"He! You called me a he in front of those girls! You- you know I hate-" a lump in their throat caused them to stop talking, closing their throat. Tears pricked their eyes and they rubbed them away angrily. 

"Shh shh, hey," Hercules said softly, placing his hands on Lafayette's shoulders to try and get him to calm down. 

"I'm so sorry Laf, I didn't mean to, I didn't even realize..." he whispered, feeling absolutely awful. Lafayette screwed their eyes shut, a tear escaping and rolling down their cheek as they shook their head viscously. 

"I just-" they started, but their throat was too tight and all that came out next was a squeaky sob. Hercules' heart broke a little at the sound.

He pulled Laf in and wrapped them in a tight hug. Lafayette sighed and sank into it, far too lost in a panic attack to refuse human contact anyway. They let their breathing and heart rate slow as Hercules comforted them, their eyes fluttering shut at some point. Eventually, they were calm, but Hercules felt so warm and he still smelt so good and Laf didn't want to move even though they were calm now. So, they stayed like that for another minute, feeling somewhat safe in Hercules' strong arms.

"I'm sorry, Laf," he whispered, breaking the silence. Laf pulled away slowly, the moment was over anyways. 

"It's ok," they said, voice small. "I'm going back to my room," they said, and with that, they took a deep breath and walked past Hercules. 

"O- ok," he stuttered, turning around to watch as Lafayette left, his heart breaking just a little bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm gonna keep adding cameos from other musicals because I can't think of names for random characters on my own.


	15. Chapter I'm going to regret this when I'm looking for a job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hercules (to Laf): you're cute. I'd fuck you if you asked.
> 
> Laf (to Herc): I am asking
> 
> Herc (to Laf): whAT??!?!
> 
> Laf: ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This- this wasn't what I had planned! Please- let me explain!
> 
> This was supposed to be two chapters buuuut I got carried away and it was flowing so perfectly and there wasn't a good place to end it and break it into two chapters SOOO this kinda happened and yeah.
> 
> It's... ummm how do I put this lightly?..... porn? Yeah- I wrote porn. 
> 
> Ok well enjoy this 7.5k chapter and please try not to judge me too much I'm not good at writing porn apparently.
> 
> (ALSO DONT WORRY ALL THE SEX THAT HAPPENS IN THIS CHAPTER IS COMPLETELY CONSENTUAL! .... that being said- it's still smut so beware)

"I cannot believe I am actually going through with this." Alex stated flatly in disbelief as Angelica's car pulled up in front of the address written on the invitation.

It was December 19th and somehow he had wound up in the exact place he had sworn he'd never go to. Yes, the party. The frat boy party. The party that was the one party he absolutely did not want to go to. 

He still wasn't sure how he had gotten there or how he had let his friends convince him into going. It was all a blur, really. One minute he was talking innocently with them when they were all hanging out together, and then he happened to mention the invitation Seabury had given him. And then it was all hell had been released upon him.

"Wait- Samuel Seabury? He invited you to HIS party?"

"No, he invited him to GEORGE KING'S PARTY!"

"No WAY."

Alex had no idea why his friends were so invested in this, and he made his thoughts clear by asking them so politely, "What the fuck is your guys' problem?"

"Umm, the redcoats are like THE most popular fraternity IN ALL OF NEW YORK! Even I know about them and I'm not even in college yet!" Peggy had exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Yeah, they're like filthy rich and super fancy and stuff. So, not exactly up your ally," John had added, voice dropping low to a suggestive whisper at the end of his sentence.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Alex had asked, turning his glare on John. Ever since their little fight about Jefferson, they hadn't been getting along well, Alex's icy tone being one of many examples of this. 

"Oh come on, Alexander. You're not exactly the 'classy' type, just don't deny it," Angelica had said, not rudely but firmly enough to get Alex to stop whining about it. 

"Well, I'm not going. It's a frat boy party and frat boys are the worst. End of story," he said, crossing his arms defiantly.

"Can I take his invitation, then?" Eliza pipped up, earning herself a few laughs from around the crowd.

"Actually, there's no need, he said I could bring whoever I wanted."

All eyes turned to Alex and the silence of dropped jaws in disbelief filled the room. He immediately regretted what he had just said.

"Ok, decision made."

"Yep."

"You're going."

"Yep."

"And you're bringing all of us."

"YEP!"

Alex had forgotten who had said what at that point, everyone was talking at once. He also had forgotten exactly what they had said to persuade him to go, because he remembered being objectively AGAINST going. But alas, here he was now, pulling up into the biggest fucking mansion he had ever seen, even bigger than the Schuyler residence. 

"Come on, Alex! It won't be that bad!" John, who was sitting beside him, reasoned. But Alex just glared at him, he wasn't in the mood for optimism.

"I have a major test next week that I really need to study for! I shouldn't be out partying with a bunch of men in disgusting khaki pants!" he whined and complained, shifting and crossing his arms angrily.

"Fine, Alex. Pout all you want, but you're coming inside!" John replied.

"Even if that means John and I have to physically carry you, kicking and screaming," Hercules added.

Alex huffed angrily but considered his options. He figured it would probably be better to walk in voluntarily and keep a shroud of his dignity in tact instead of being carried in over Hercules' shoulder.

"Fine." he barked unhappily as he pushed open the door. He heard his friends applaud in cheers as he stepped out of the vehicle. 

His friends followed suit and joined him outside the car. Angelica and Eliza looked beautiful in their shimmering dresses which were classy but not formal, the perfect mix. Herc and Laf were also dressed nicely, but there wasn't much surprise there. What did surprise Alex though, was John. He was wearing black jeans that fit him so nicely it hardly left anything to the imagination, and a white t-shirt with a jean jacket over top. There was a silver chain around his neck and another one that went from the front pocket of his jeans, down, and around to the back one. Alex watched appreciatively as John stood there, hands placed casually in his jacket pockets and his weight shifted to one foot, the shape of his ass nice and tight through the fabric of his-

"What are you wearing, Alexander?" Laf asked suddenly, interrupting Alex's thought, which was probably for the best.

Alex sighed. He knew he was the least nicely dressed one in their little group. The truth was, he just didn't have very many nice things to wear. Clothes were expensive and expanses were something Alex didn't have very much of. He realized this dilemma when he was getting ready for the party, he had gone through his entire closet and still hadn't been able to find anything remotely nice. It made him think that all Jefferson's jokes about him only having one outfit were actually very true. 

He ended up wearing the nicest pair of jeans he owned, which didn't fit him too badly, they were only a little long and pooled at his ankles, and stealing one of Burr's nicer sweater's and his old, rundown jacket. He knew it wasn't half as nice as his friends but it was the best he could have done.

"Yeah, I know..." he trailed off shamefully, tugging at the sleeves on his jacket in embarrassment.

"No! You look fantastic!" Laf trilled, spinning Alex around to have a look at him.

Alex felt his cheeks glow red. "Really?" he asked pathetically, hearing the insecurity in his own voice. 

"Yes! Don't you think so, John?" Laf asked, turning to stare at John, who seemed to be slightly dazed.

"What? I mean- yes! Yeah, of course! You look great!" John stuttered as he scratched at the back of his head. "Alright! Let's go inside now!" He said as he started to walk up to the house, pulling Lafayette with him.

The rest of the group gave each other odd looks but then collectively shrugged and followed them up to the house. Alex could already hear the music blaring loudly from outside the huge house. It sounded like some British rock band but he wasn't entirely sure. However, the huge British flag on the front door increased his suspicions.

Angelica stepped up and knocked firmly on the door. Alex didn't even realize he was holding his breath until he started to feel his lungs burn. The door opened and light spilled out onto the gang.

"Hello, may I help you?" Samuel Seabury asked as he leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms, smug look on his face. Alex felt his blood boil at the way he looked Angelica up and down and smirked. Stupid motherfucking frat boys think they can-

"Oh! Hamilton! These must be your friends you invited? I'm so glad you could make it! Come inside, everyone!" Seabury suddenly erupted happily, beaming at the group and especially Alex. He stepped aside and let the gang through, greeting them enthusiastically.

The more Alex spent time around this Seabury guy, the more he didn't like him. He was skeptical from the start but now it seemed like Seabury had multiple personalities and they changed depending whether Alex was there or not. And not only that but his creepy smile and faux-charm put him on edge.

Alex, however, didn't have time to dwell on this as he was instantly taken aback by the scene going on inside. There were SO. MANY. PEOPLE.

College students of all ages roamed and talked and danced and partied around the house, which seemed to be even bigger on the inside if that was possible. Music was blaring and- were those fucking strobe lights? AND A SMOKE MACHINE? Alex found himself thinking: what the actual fuck.

"Welcome to the party!" Samuel sang in his light British accent. Alex was beginning to notice a theme...

"Wow! Some party!" Hercules hollered, whistling loudly as he took in the room. Alex noticed all his friends were also in awe, they all bore the same excited, thrilled expressions.

"Feel free to roam wherever you like, just keep in mind upstairs is closed off. Oh, and the bar is over there if you would like a drink, it's all free!" Samuel chirped.

Alex swore he saw Herc, Laf, and John's eyes all light up at the same time at the mention of the open bar. And sure enough, the trio were making their way over there, laughing and joking the whole way. The sisters quickly took after them as well, chattering excitedly. Alex was just about to join them when a sudden hand gripped firmly on his elbow, stopping him from moving.

He turned around to see Samuel looking at him and clutching his elbow tightly. There was something off about his expression, he still bore the creepy smile but now there was also a look of seriousness in his eyes. Alex couldn't help but feel as though he was being threatened just by this man's stare.

"I'm really, very glad you could make it, Hamilton," he said, a tone of seriousness in his voice that made it sound like his words had an alternative meaning.

"Likewise..." Alex said, suspicion visible on his face. Seabury winked and let go of his elbow, but not before casting his gaze past Hamilton's head.

"I think there's someone here who wants to see you, better go greet him while he's still here," Samuel said thickly, eyeing whoever was just behind Hamilton. Suspicion and curiosity rising, Hamilton turned around to see who he was referring to.

"No. Fucking. Way." 

He whipped his head back around to ask Seabury what the fuck HE was doing here, but to his complete shock, Seabury was gone. He then decided he had to take matters into his own hands and spun around to walk over to the person who just kept fucking him over.

"Jefferson! What the FUCK are you doing here?" Alexander barked, literally shoving him as he said this. 

Thomas blinked in surprise and took a couple steps back after being pushed by Hamilton. But Alexander wasn't convinced, he just knew Thomas was only here on his own agenda, his agenda to do anything he could to annoy him!

"I- Hamilton! W- what? I was invited by Samuel... what are you doing here?" Thomas stuttered unevenly. He looked spooked, a little scared even, and his eyebrows were drawn together, creating a little line in the centre of his brow. His eyes were wide and his composure was smaller than usual... maybe he really was genuinely surprised Hamilton was there...

"He invited me too!" Alex snapped. Thomas' eyebrows shot up. Alex smirked. He was cute when he was all shook up.

"What- why?" Thomas stammered.

"Umm because I'm a fun person to have at a party? Fuck you!" Alex replied, crossing his arms. He was still upset about the whole fiasco with Lafayette and the kiss and everything and if Jefferson thought he had forgotten about it, he was largely mistaken.

Thomas sighed exasperatedly and rolled his eyes. "I meant, why didn't we know the other was invited? Why is Seabury being so secretive about it?" he said as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

Alex shrugged, not knowing the answer for once. "I dunno. But whatever it is I'm gonna find out. Something about that guy sets me off," he muttered.

"I can actually agree with you on that. The guy's creepy as fuck," Thomas said. Alex felt a laugh bubble inside him and before he could stop it, it fell out. Thomas looked at him funnily but also laughed along politely. Alex narrowed his eyes.

"And what's so funny?!" he snapped, anger bubbling inside him again.

"Relax! I was just laughing at the joke," Thomas defended himself.

"Whatever. I'm going to find Seabury," Alex spat before flipping Thomas off and stalking away in the direction of the bar. Thomas just rolled his eyes. Of course Hamilton takes every single thing personally, he shouldn't have expected anything else. He decided to just let it go and find James again since he lost track of him awhile ago.

He managed to spend a good half hour looking for his friend and still didn't find him. He decided to hit the bar and just wait for James to find him, the poor little guy was probably running around everywhere looking for Thomas so he thought it would probably be better if he just stayed still.

He made it to the bar and ordered a glass of wine since the people who owned this house actually had taste and carried some of his favourite wines. It would be nice to get a change from cheap beer too. He sat back and sipped his drink while he looked around at the crowd. 

His eyes fell on a few familiar faces. He could see Angelica and Elizabeth Schuyler on the dance floor, laughing and dancing with each other and another couple of girls he didn't recognize. He also saw Mulligan and Laurens doing shots at the other end of the bar. He turned his nose up in disgust. But then he realized there was a person missing from their little gang... well two if you counted Hamilton but Thomas didn't particularly care about where Hamilton was at the moment.

He decided to go over and ask Lafayette's friends where he could find them. 

"Hey," he said as he tapped Mulligan on the shoulder. The man turned around and blinked in surprise, but then nodded in acknowledgment.

"Hey, I didn't know you'd be here," Mulligan replied. Thomas nodded and became momentarily distracted as he noticed the way John Laurens was glaring at him. He figured it probably had something to do with Hamilton and shook it away, remembering the reason he came there in the first place.

"Have you seen Laf? I want to speak with them!" he shouted to Mulligan over the loudness of the music.

"Oh! They're on the dance floor with Angie and Liza! Said something about 'showing them how the French do it'? I dunno I think they're already drunk, they had like 6 shots and-"

"Ok! Thanks!" Thomas called as he walked away before he had to listen to anymore rambling from Mulligan. He made his way onto the dance floor and in the general direction of where he remembered seeing Elizabeth and Angelica. And sure enough, Lafayette was there too, Thomas wondered how he managed to miss them when he first saw the sisters on the floor.

He walked up to their little group, amusement flickering through him as he watched Lafayette dance- or rather TRY to dance. He laughed at the way the Parisian jumped and moved off time with the music. No wonder all the girls around him were laughing hysterically.

"Thomas!" Lafayette gasped as they caught sight of their friend. They danced through the circle of giggling girls and up to Thomas, taking his hands in theirs. They pulled on his hands and tried to coax him into dancing, but Thomas only laughed at them.

"Sorry Gil! There's no way I'm dancing with you! I've learned from my past mistakes!" Thomas teased, remembered all the times in France when Lafayette had stepped on his toes while they were dancing.

"Awww! Please, mon cher! For meeeee?" Lafayette sang, throwing their arms around Thomas and hanging off him drunkenly while looking up at him with the biggest goddamn puppy dog eyes ever.

"No! But I do need to talk to you," Thomas said, expertly changing the subject. Lafayette sulked and stuffed their face into Thomas' chest, whining, "You are no fuuuuuuuuun!"

Thomas barked a laugh and dragged his French friend away from the dance floor and to a less crowded corner of the room. Lafayette stumbled after him and eventually fell into him when he stopped abruptly. They looked around the intimate space and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"I do hope you are not trying to kiss me again, mon amour," they slurred drunkenly.

"The opposite actually," Thomas said as he peeled Lafayette off of him and stood them back up properly. "I just wanted to apologize for kissing you the other day. I took you by surprise and I took advantage of you and that wasn't right. I'm sorry."

Lafayette blinked slowly, as if they didn't understand what Thomas was saying, but then smiled and nodded in comprehension.

"C'est d'accord! Je comprends que tu voulais juste que Alexandre sois jaloux," they said, switching into French without even really realizing it.

"What? No! That's not- that wasn't what I was trying to do!" Thomas stuttered, cheeks glowing red. Lafayette just stared at him like he was crazy. "I was trying to make him leave me alone! Not make him jealous! And why would I even want to make him jealous? That's just crazy! It's not like I like him- I don't like him!"

Lafayette started to snicker and Thomas huffed angrily.

"If you say so!" Lafayette sang teasingly, to which Thomas just rolled his eyes. He wasn't in the mood to argue with a drunk Lafayette, or anyone at all really. He just wanted to find James and get out of there.

"Have you seen James by any chance?" Thomas asked Lafayette, who had already started to waltz away. They turned around, their eyes lit up and a huge smile on their face. Thomas raised an eyebrow, were they that happy about helping him find James?

"I LOVE THIS SONG! COME DANCE WITH ME!" Lafayette nearly screamed as they grabbed Thomas' arm before he could argue and pulled him onto the dance floor.

"No, Laf! I need to find James- ow!" Thomas yelped when Laf stepped on his foot by accident, they didn't even notice.

Lafayette just smiled wildly at him, a brightness in their eyes Thomas just realized he hadn't seen in a long time, not since they said goodbye when he left Paris. He smiled at how happy they seemed in that moment and decided to just dance with them because if it would make them happy, it was worth it.

Thomas started to move his body and jump along with the music. He recognized the song as "Dancing Queen" by Abba and figured it would be the type of song Lafayette loved. He laughed at Lafayette's insane dance moves and wondered how they managed to dance like the rest of the world wasn't there. Thomas could barely bounce along with the beat of a song without feeling self-conscious. Yet, there was Lafayette, the absolute WORST dancer ever, and they were having the time of their life. Thomas guessed it was probably a lot easier when you were shit-faced drunk, but he also knew Lafayette wasn't the type to care what others thought of them. They did what they wanted and if you didn't like it, so be it. They were themselves and they were happy with it. Thomas wished he could be like that. 

"YOU ARE THE DANCING QUEEN!!! YOUNG AND SWEET ONLY SEVENTEEEEEEN!!!!!!!!!" 

Lafayette sang at the top of their lungs as they took Thomas' hands in theirs and forced him to dance with them. They both jumped and spun around and laughed together as the music blared in the background. Thomas laughed at the way his friend sung along so passionately it almost appeared crazy. 

Just then, the song ended and Lafayette collapsed breathlessly onto Thomas, laughing as they did. Thomas staggered backwards a bit at the sudden weight on him and wrapped his arms around Lafayette in order to support them better. 

"Whoa, ok, you need to sit down," Thomas stated the obvious. Then he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"I can take it from here," said a deep voice from behind Thomas. He turned around to see Mulligan staring at him coldly. He didn't seem too happy about something, the stern scowl on his face being any indication. But then Thomas remembered that he was friends with Hamilton and that he probably hated his guts and that's why he was acting so cold towards him... although he hadn't been this rude to him earlier...

"Hercules! Mon amour! Thomas was just dancing with me! You should dance too! Come on!" Lafayette chattered excitedly as they pulled themselves off of Thomas and grabbed Mulligan's hand. He looked shocked at first but, just as Thomas didn't have time to react, he was pulled away by Lafayette and onto the dance floor, leaving Thomas alone.

He stared in confusion for a moment, watching Lafayette dance around Mulligan, and then shook himself out of it. He had to find James anyways. 

But after another hour or so of searching, James proved to be impossible to find. He wasn't even answering Thomas' texts! Thomas was starting to worry, James wasn't the type to disappear without a sound. He started wracking his brain about all the possible places his best friend could have gone.

\-----

Herc sat with John at the bar and watched as Lafayette danced with Thomas Jefferson. He wondered why was it that Thomas Jefferson got to dance with them? Why wasn't it him dancing with Laf? A cold expression set on his face as he watched the two of them dancing and laughing. He felt something tighten in his chest and he frowned. Was he that jealous of Thomas Jefferson right now?

He blinked as he realized that was exactly it. He was jealous of Thomas! Because Thomas was dancing with Laf and HE wanted to dance with Laf! Hercules thought back on all the times he'd been with Laf, all their coffee dates which weren't actually dates, that night they slept in the same bed, the photo shoot incident! 

"Holy shit..." Herc muttered as realization poured onto him. He liked Laf. Like, LIKED them liked them.

"What?" John asked from beside him. Hercules turned to John, he didn't want to leave his friend alone, he knew he wasn't exactly in a good place right then, but Laf was right there...

"Hey, are you gonna be ok if I go dance for a minute?" Herc asked, staring at John curiously. 

John shrugged and took a swig of his drink. "I don't mind," he said. Herc gave him a worried glance but John just smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Go!" he urged as he pushed Herc off his chair. Herc smiled and nodded his thanks to his best friend. "Just don't grind too hard with Laf please!" John called out as Hercules made his way to the dance floor. In response, he flipped John off and walked away, smile on his face.

He heard the song end suddenly and saw Lafayette collapse onto Thomas. He felt the jealousy heat up inside him once more and stepped right up to them.

"I can take it from here," he said as he tapped Thomas on the shoulder. He knew his voice was harsh but, right then, he didn't care. All he cared about was getting Laf back.

"Hercules! Mon amour! Thomas was just dancing with me! You should dance too! Come on!" Lafayette babbled as they pulled Hercules by the hand. He didn't exactly have time to react, only time to feel Lafayette's hand grabbing his and feeling his skin burn under their touch. He felt his cheeks heat up. 

What was wrong with him? He was never the type to crush on someone- or the type to blush for god's sakes! But with Laf, he couldn't help but feel all weird and giggly on the inside. He smiled as Lafayette started to dance to the next song. They were really awful at dancing, Hercules noticed. They couldn't exactly stay on time with the music and they couldn't properly control their body, but it was extremely cute to watch them try. 

"Come oooon! I said dance!" Lafayette whined as they made the hugest puppy dog eyes ever. Herc literally felt his heart skip a beat. And he did hate dancing, but how could he deny Laf? He smiled, rolled his eyes, and took Lafayette's hands. They grinned and started to dance with Hercules, looking the like biggest dork at the party, but he didn't care.

Just then, the song ended and a slow one started. A beautiful melody filled the room and Herc noticed couples start to slow dance together. In any other situation, he probably would have made fun of those couples with John, but in that moment, he just turned to look at Lafayette. They swayed on their feet, hands still in Hercules', their eyes closed, and they hummed along with the melody. Hercules smiled at the sight of it and felt their heart leap a little. 

He stepped closer to Laf, put his arms around their waist, and pulled them in closer. Lafayette stumbled into him and threw their arms around his neck. They were so close, Lafayette's head rested on his chest, and Hercules' chin rested on top of their's. He smiled as they both swayed back and forth to the soft melody and he took in the way Lafayette felt against him, in his arms, and his heart soared.

Maybe they liked him too. Maybe they would want to be more than friends. Maybe this could work out.

Suddenly, Lafayette let out a low groan. Hercules, immediately concerned, pulled away and steadied Lafayette by their shoulders.

"Are you ok?" he asked, a worried look on his face as he studied Lafayette's pale face. They blinked and look up at Hercules.

"No... I do not feel well," Lafayette said as they rocked back and forth. Realization dawned on Hercules and immediately his heart sank. 

"You're drunk," he told Laf. Of course, Lafayette was drunk, that's the only reason they were acting so affectionate towards him, they were doing the exact same thing with Thomas earlier! 

Lafayette snorted and drawled sarcastically, "Noooooo! I am perfectly sober, what are you saying?!" Hercules normally would have laughed but his heart stung too much. Instead, he wrapped his arm around Laf to steady them and took off to find John. He was still at the bar, looking absolutely miserable. Hercules felt bad, but he also knew he had to get Laf home before they collapsed. 

"Hey, Laf's drunk as fuck. I'm gonna take them home before they die, ok?" Herc asked, giving John a look that said what his words didn't, which was: "Will you be ok if I leave?"

"Yeah, ok," John said, a smile on his face that Herc knew was forced. "You'll be ok?" he asked, not feeling ok about leaving him. "Yeah, I have the sisters and Alex... who's here somewhere..." John muttered.

Herc gave him another look but john shook it off again. "Go! It's ok. They obviously need some sleep," he said, gesturing to Lafayette who was leaning limply against Hercules. He sighed, nodded, said his goodbyes and dragged Laf all the way to the front entrance. They got their coats and headed out to the curb where they waited for a taxi.

"Why do you smell so good?" Lafayette muttered, their face still buried in Hercules' neck. He chuckled and stroked their back soothingly, they must be even drunker than he had thought. 

The night was quiet and the air was cold, being that it was December. There wasn't any snow yet though, Hercules shuddered at the thought of snow. Just then, Lafayette shivered viciously and pressed in closer to him. "It's cold," they muttered.

Hercules looked around, there wasn't a cab in sight, but he could see a familiar apartment building not far away.

"Come on, my apartment isn't far, we can just walk there and warm-slash-sober you up before I take you back to the dorm," he said as he rubbed Lafayette's back. They hummed in agreement and the two started walking down the street in the direction of his apartment. 

"I think I feel a little better," Laf said suddenly, removing themselves from Hercules side. He bit back the feeling of wanting Laf to stay there and let them walk on their own. 

"You sure? You were pretty gone a minute ago," he joked. Lafayette barked a sarcastic laugh and shoved Hercules to the side lightly. "I've seen you in much worse condition, mon ami," they countered. Hercules shrugged. "You got me there. I'm usually the one who's shit faced drunk, not you."

Lafayette hummed and nodded their head, they seemed to be thinking about something. Hercules wondered what. 

"So, why did you? Get drunk I mean?" Hercules asked softly. Lafayette looked up at the sky and sighed. They stayed quiet for awhile and Hercules started to wonder if they were ever going to answer. Then, there was another sigh and they spoke.

"I wanted to forget," they whispered. 

"Forget what?" 

"Forget about something."

"What?"

There was no answer, only a slight shake of the head. Hercules felt his heart pull but he let it go, he shouldn't have pushed them in the first place. Lafayette shivered again and Hercules pulled them back in by his side. "We're almost there," he whispered.

They made it into the building and up the elevator in silence, Lafayette didn't stray from Hercules' side this time. He unlocked his apartment and opened the door. Lafayette walked in after him and looked around curiously.

"I have never been here before," they remarked as the took in the small, two bedroom apartment. Hercules closed the door and dropped his keys on the kitchen counter. There was an open room with a kitchenette and a couch and tv, but no kitchen table, just a coffee table and a small island with a couple of stools. It was small, but nice. Lafayette hummed in approval.

"I like it!" they exclaimed as they turned back to Hercules who was rummaging around in a cabinet. "It's not much but it works," he replied as he brought down two glasses. Lafayette smiled and waltzed up to him. "I think it's cute, like you," they said as they wrapped their arms around his waist and rested their head on his chin.

Hercules felt his heart stop and he nearly dropped the two glasses in his hands. His body froze under Lafayette, but his heart started to race. He felt Lafayette's arms tighten around him and- no no no no this was not good for his heart- nonononono.

"Uh! Here! Water! For you!" Hercules gasped, barely able to speak all of a sudden. He broke away and filled the glasses with water and thrust one into Lafayette's hand without meeting their eyes. Why did Laf have to be so drunk and adorable? Why why why why why why?

Lafayette sipped their water and stared at Hercules curiously. They smiled. Hercules was sooooo cuuuuuuuute! They laughed when they realized they had accidentally said that out loud and watched in amusement as Hercules' face went red and he choked on the water he was drinking.

"Oh no! Are you alright?" Lafayette giggled as Hercules coughed and choked. He nodded and gasped for air. Lafayette looked around and suddenly remembered Hercules had a brother. "Is your brother at home?" they asked, peering around Hercules as if he was hiding him. Hercules shook his head, finally catching his breath after his coughing fit. 

"No, he's out tonight," Hercules said, his face was still red. "Ah. When will he be back?" Lafayette asked curiously. Hercules shrugged and replied "late." Lafayette hummed curiously and stepped up to him, placing their hand on his shoulder. Hercules froze again and stared wide eyed at Laf. 

"So, you can say we have the whole house to ourselves, oui?" Lafayette purred, although some effect of it was lost in their still drunken state. Hercules swallowed. What the fuck was happening. Lafayette stepped closer and stared into his eyes, their own hooded through thick eye lashes. They brought up their other hand and placed it softly on the curve of his neck. And all Hercules could think was: holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit!

Lafayette leaned in closer, Hercules could now feel their breath hot on his face. His heart was pounding, his legs were practically jello underneath him. He reached back and gripped the edge of the counter for support.

"Laf?" he choked out, his voice failing him and cracking a bit. Lafayette leaned back a bit and stared into his eyes, making it feel like they were staring right through Hercules. 

"Yes?" they whispered.

"What are we doing?" he asked quickly before his mind decided to stop working. Lafayette hesitated and then shrugged lightly. "Nothing if you don't want to," they whispered. And- dammit, their accent was so hot when they whispered like that. Hercules felt his heart skip.

"You're drunk!" he blurted out. Lafayette smiled. 

"I'm not that drunk," they replied softly. 

"But- we're friends!" 

Lafayette leaned in close, touched their nose up to his ear and whispered, "I think this will only make us closer, non?" 

Hercules shuddered as he felt the warmth of their breath tickle his neck. He closed his eyes as his breathing became more laboured, letting his skin burn with desire under Lafayette's touch. He was suddenly filled with longing, it had been quite awhile since he'd been touched like Lafayette was touching him, and they were right there with him and they were so close and they were... Lafayette.

"Just stop me if it's too much," Laf whispered as they brought their face back to meet Hercules' gaze. They leaned in incredibly slowly, giving Herc lots of time to scream internally at how bad of an idea this was. He could practically hear a little angel on his one shoulder yelling for him not to do it and a little devil screaming for him to KISS THE DAMN BEAUTIFUL BASTARD ALREADY! 

"Fuck it," was all he said before he pushed off the counter and clashed their lips together.

Lafayette immediately reciprocated and kissed him back, hard. They're grip on his neck tightened and Hercules felt the burn their fingers left on his skin. He felt their nails dig into his skin slightly but the slight stinging, burning sensation just made everything better. 

Lafayette moved down and bit at Hercules' lower lip, causing him to groan for the first time. His hands automatically found their way to Lafayette's waist and were soon gripping and pulling them closer. He slid his tongue into Lafayette's mouth and kissed them like he'd never kissed anyone before. There was something different about this, different than all the other men he had slept with. There was passion, there was longing, there were feelings. 

He suddenly wanted to push Lafayette up against a wall and kiss every part of their body, so he did exactly that. He broke the kiss, placed his hands on their chest and turned them and shoved them back into the wall that connected the hallway and the kitchenette. Lafayette gasped loudly in surprise and then groaned as Hercules pushed them into the wall. He started his attack on their neck, kissing and biting and sucking when he found the right spot. Underneath him, Lafayette moaned and clawed at his back. He then pulled off Lafayette's jacket and started to undo the buttons of their shirt so that he could have better access to their chest where he continued to bruise them.

Suddenly, Lafayette gasped loudly and rocked their hips up so they collided with Hercules'. He got the hint and thrusted down on them, causing them to groan loudly. Hercules decided to forget about kissing every inch of their body, that took too long, and instead went back to kissing their mouth. Lafayette whimpered helplessly as Hercules basically fucked their mouth with his tongue and grinded on them uselessly. He felt every muscle, every nerve in his body starting to buzz with excitement and adrenaline, and obviously Laf was feeling it too because they were clawing at him desperately. 

Hercules broke away from the kiss and stared down at them in complete adoration. Lafayette looked so perfect there against the wall, breathless and flushed, hot and flustered. They look at him as of to ask him why he stopped, but he just smirked and grabbed their hand and stared to pull them further down the hall and towards his bedroom.

"Where are we going?" they gasped breathlessly. Hercules threw his bedroom door open. "Well I'm not gonna fuck you in the hall," he replied as he shoved Laf through the door. Lafayette stumbled but caught their feet and regained balanced. They spun around, heart racing, and watched Hercules close his door. 

"So, you are going to fuck me?" they asked. Hercules stepped closer and Lafayette stepped back. The air in the room was electric. Lafayette felt the back of their knees catch on something and they fell backwards onto a bed.

"Mmhmmm," Hercules hummed, a lustful look in his eyes. Lafayette stared up at him wide eyed as he pulled his shirt over his head and discarded it on the floor. They kept eye contact, which seemed impossible to let go of, as Hercules placed a knee on either side of them, straddling them. He lowered his hips and sat on their lap. Lafayette nodded and whispered the word, "good," because god did they ever want to be fucked by Hercules Mulligan.

Hercules grabbed their face in both hands and kissed them roughly, all the while rolling his hips up and down, grinding on top of them. Lafayette groaned when they felt Hercules' dick drag against their own and they felt themselves twitch as they felt Hercules harden against the base of their stomach. Their hands went immediately to his ass and they felt him harden even more as they gripped at it. Hercules pulled their shirt off and over their head, breaking the kiss for a second. Lafayette stared longingly up at him as he threw their shirt on the floor. Hercules then stared back down at them, their chest heaving and their dick painfully obviously hard against their pants. Lafayette smirked.

"Well? Get on with it then!" they snapped impatiently, to which Hercules responded by letting himself off of Laf and pushing them so they laid flat on the bed. He crawled back up and leaned down, hovering over them. Lafayette stared up at him, a smile on their face. Hercules took a second to marvel at their beauty once more, but Lafayette had other plans. They were undoing his belt and tossing it on the floor, then they looked up at him with innocent eyes. 

"Oops," they said, a smile erupting on their face. Hercules smiled wickedly and moved lower and lower until he was hovering over their crotch. He undid their pants button, unzipped the zipper, and pulled them down. Lafayette watched with an amused expression, finding it almost comical how slow he was goin-

"Ah!" they gasped as Hercules fisted their cock suddenly. They couldn't even remember when he had taken off their boxers but they were gone now. Hercules smirked as he flicked his wrist up and down, watching Lafayette come undone beneath him.

"Oops," he said innocently as he smirked up at Laf. They didn't respond, they just threw their head back and groaned as Hercules stroked up and down. When he'd had enough of that, Hercules moved his hand further down and fingered at Laf's entrance, causing them to groan and rock their hips up. But Hercules teased them some more and licked at it, causing them to whimper.

"You are the devil!" they whined, "Just fuck me already!" Hercules sighed but did as he was told and pressed a single finger into Laf. They groaned loudly and squirmed from the sudden pain at the intrusion, but eventually they were able to relax. Hercules continued to work them open slowly, careful not to hurt them. Lafayette, for their part, did nothing but mutter uselessly in French, with the occasional curse word in English. Hercules loved watched them with their head thrown back and their hands gripping tightly at the skin on their thighs. He felt himself twitch in excitement at what was to come, and every single noise Laf made went straight to his dick. 

"Herc! Please! I- oh my god!" Lafayette nearly screamed when Hercules hit the right spot inside them. "Please, my love, I need you to fuck me already! I can't- PLEASE!" they did scream that time.

Hercules got the message and extracted his fingers, causing Lafayette to shiver. He crawled back up to his beautiful Lafayette and brushed their hair back. They stared up him, they're chest heaving. He then reached for his drawer where he knew he kept the condoms and lube. Lafayette bit their lip as they watched him prepare, suddenly a little scared. 

"You ok?" Herc asked, looking up at Laf from where he was positioned. They nodded and shut their eyes tight, bracing themselves. They felt him enter and blindly reached up for something to grab. They found Hercules' shoulders and gripped tightly, waiting for the burning pain to die down. It did, and when it did all that was left was burning desire. 

"Are you ok?" Hercules whispered. Lafayette nodded quickly and bucked their hips up, anxious to get on with it. Hercules understood and started to thrust slowly. For awhile, they both said nothing and the only sound was both their heavy breathing and the creaking of the bed. Lafayette could already feel the pleasure heating up inside of them. They met each of his thrusts and kept their grip tight on his shoulders. 

"Shit..." Hercules breathed. Lafayette looked up at him. He had a concentrated look on his face, his eyebrows drawn together and his jaw clenched. Lafayette didn't like it, they wanted him to relax, they wanted him to enjoy it. So, they reached up and kissed him lightly on the lips. Hercules bent down and followed suit, kissing them while they fucked. Lafayette hummed with pleasure as they felt his thrusts become faster and harder. This was just what they needed.

They broke the kiss to reposition themselves a bit, and the next time Hercules went down they felt the blinding pleasure of him hitting the exact right spot. They gasped and held their position while Hercules continued to hit the same spot, over and over and over and-

"Merde! Hercules!" they practically screamed. Hercules could tell they were close and knew full well he was close too. The pace intensified and a hand was added to the formula, going with the same rhythm as each thrust. Lafayette's grip on his shoulders tightened and there was a shout and suddenly Hercules felt them come onto his hand. He thrusted a few more times and suddenly he too was hit with his own orgasm, and they both collapsed.

Hercules felt Lafayette's hands release and fall back onto the bed. They both laid there and breathed for a few more moments before he pushed up and pulled out. He heard Lafayette whimper and leaned back over to pet their face, shushing and cooing. They opened their eyes and smiled weakly up at him, taking his hand in their own. 

"I'll be right back," Hercules whispered. He placed a kiss on their forehead before he disappeared. Lafayette leaned back and closed their eyes, exhaustion setting itself upon them. A couple minutes later they heard Hercules come back and climb into bed with them. Half-unconsciously, they shifted to the side to make room for him and immediately latched onto him for warmth. 

Hercules smiled at Lafayette, their hair had fallen out of their ponytail and was sprawled everywhere. They already had their eyes closed and looked so peaceful. He laid down and draped his arm over Lafayette protectively. He watched Lafayette bury their face in his neck and chuckled softly when he felt their cold nose press against his neck. 

"Goodnight, Laf," he whispered. Lafayette murmured something inaudible but Hercules assumed it was a goodnight. He smiled and took in one last look of them before letting his eyes drift shut. And right then, with Laf at his side, everything felt right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep. It's official. I hate myself.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexander and Thomas have a heart to heart, that is after they scream at each other of course. They open up and let their walls down and it's completely terrifying but also very relieving. Back story's are revealed and epiphanies are realized.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo a couple of warnings for this chapter are 1. Homophobic slurs 2. Mentions of abuse and 3. Graphic depictions of abuse
> 
> Haha you guys thought that after a 7.5k chapter I would post a shorter chapter this week. Well not only is this chapter 8.5k, it's also a day early because I have too much work to do tomorrow to be able to post it. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy whatever the heck this is!

"Hamilton! Just the man I was looking for!" Samuel purred as he touched Alex on the arm affectionately, to which Alex stared at him with disgust.

"What do you want?" he asked, in perhaps what could probably have been a nicer tone. But he wasn't in the mood to be nice. Thomas was here and if that wasn't bad enough, he couldn't seem to find any of his friends. The house was huge and incredibly crowded and he was pretty sure he was lost, he didn't even have a clue how he ended up in the dark, silent hallway he was in.

"Shh, no need to get your panties in a twist!" Samuel purred. Alex rolled his eyes because, really? Who uses that phrase anymore?

Suddenly, Samuel's grip on his arm tightened. Alex turned to look at him and saw the same creepy smile, but behind it also a threatening look. He felt his heart rate start to pick up. Something didn't seem right.

"Come, I still have to introduce you to our host!" Samuel said, fake charisma oozing from his voice. He started to pull Alex away from where the music was blaring and down a spiralling staircase.

"Umm, where are you taking me?" Alex asked. He was trying his best to sound snarky and impatient but even he could hear the faint tinge of fear in his voice. He wasn't sure where he was going and he was already a little on edge around Samuel and this dark, creepy staircase into a darker, creepier basement was not helping.

"Relax, I'm not going to kill you! It's just this is where Georgie asked me to take you," Samuel replied smoothly.

"Georgie?!?" Alex exclaimed. He wasn't sure if he was going crazy but he could swear that was the name of the creepy clown that eats children in that one horror movie...

"Yeah! George King! He's one of my dearest friends and kind of the leader in our little fraternity here. He's very excited to meet you! He's heard all about you and your little debates with Jefferson," Samuel started to ramble and the more he said the more Alex got freaked out. 

They made it down the staircase and into an open basement which was not as creepy as Alex was expecting it to be. It was actually very nice and refurbished with a coordinated red and yellow colour scheme. 

"Ah! Samuel! There you are!" a voice spoke up from somewhere Alex couldn't see. He turned around and saw the man who had spoken. He was tall and had shocking long blond hair, which was really almost white. He was pale but well-built, and just like Samuel, bore a creepy smile and had a British accent. Weird.

"Georgie! Hi!" Samuel squeaked as he ran up to the man. He jumped up and wrapped his arms around George affectionately, while George laughed lightheartedly and hugged him back.

"Samuel! Be polite! You need to introduce me to our guest!" George scolded, although his voice didn't have that much force to it.

Alex watched in bewilderment as Samuel pouted and gave George puppy dog eyes until George gave in and kissed him quickly on the lips. Then, Samuel happily turned around and gestured to Alex.

"This is Alexander Hamilton, the top debater in the school, but of course you already know that since I never shut up about him!" Samuel said, turning back to George.

"Ah yes, I now also see that he's very good looking and I'm getting rather jealous!" George said, eyeing Alexander curiously. Alex shifted under he gaze, feeling more than a little bit like prey. 

"Oh please! You know my heart belongs to you Georgie!" Samuel said, rolling his eyes. 

"I'm sorry, why am I here?" Alex asked suddenly as he crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. 

"Oh! My apologies! I'll explain! Here, have a seat," George apologized as he moved and gestured for Alex to sit down on the red, leather sofa. He did, and George sat across from him on a large red chair while Samuel proceeded to sit in his lap like his pet. Alex nearly wanted to throw up.

"Alright, let's get down to it, shall we?" George started. Alex raised an eyebrow, ready to hear whatever shit this pompous Brit had to say. "For awhile now our small  
Fraternity has been becoming smaller and smaller. I fear that we may be shut down soon from lack of members. And it's a shame, really, because I love it here and I really wouldn't like to see it go. So, we've been slowly recruiting more and more people to join."

"Where are you going with this?" Alex asked skeptically, although he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

"Patience, don't let that big brain of yours get to the end before I do. Now, where was I? Oh, so we've been gathering more people to join us. Unfortunately, we can't have just anyone join our group. We need the best of the best, other wise what would we be?"

"Right," Alex said flatly. This was getting boring.

"Right! And Samuel here has been a gem and has been keeping an eye out for possible initiates. And then he came across you, Mr Hamilton. A bright young man, only 19, immigrated here from the Caribbean, from almost nothing! And yet here you are, almost completely self-taught, and you're the top in all of your classes! Samuel says you have a fire in you, a fire that is especially set ablaze when you debate. I think those are magnificent characteristics to have."

Alex had nothing to say. He knew where the conversation was going, but he still couldn't believe what he heard next.

"And so, we'd like to offer you a spot here in our humble home," George finished, gesturing around grandly at the room. 

Alex blinked. Once. Twice. Three times in disbelief. And then he started to laugh. He laughed uncontrollably, almost insanely, for a good couple minutes while the other two just stared at him bewilderedly, George stroking Sam like he was a cat.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Alex said as he heaved to catch his breath, wiping away a tear or two. "I just don't think I'm the guy you want!"

"Well of course you are! Sure, you don't come from money but we can change that! Trust me, of you join us you'll have everything you ever wanted!"

Alex snorted at this, but not because he was amused. "Are you kidding? You mean I'll become everything I've ever despised! No offence, but you guys are kind of the worst. I mean, all you do is party and oppress people just so you can feel like you have power. You attack people and feed off their weakness just so you can feel strong and, quite frankly, I want absolutely nothing to do with that! So thanks, but no thanks."

Alex stood up, thinking that was the end, but when he turned to leave, he realized he couldn't. The staircase was now being blocked by two guys who were not there before and who did not look impressed. Alex turned around to see George and Sam, now standing up and wearing disappointed expressions, making their way out of the room. 

"I really wished you hadn't said those things, Hamilton," George tutted, shaking his head as he walked past the body guards. Samuel gave Alex a sympathetic look before following George up the stairs. Alex's heart started to pump as he watched them with huge eyes. 

"I do hope you'll change your mind! In the meantime, you can get acquainted with my staff, they're very athletic and they don't mind getting a little physical... oh! But do try and keep the blood off the furniture?"

"BLOOD?!" Alex shrieked. There was fear inside him now, cold, cruel fear. His heart was hammering as the two men made their way closer to Alex, identical smirks on their faces. Alex shot a helpless look up the staircase but George and Samuel were gone. He was alone. Well... not alone completely...

\-----

Thomas ran his fingers through his hair as he walked down the same hallway for the tenth time. Where was James? He had searched everywhere for him! Where could he have possibly gone? Suddenly, Thomas heard voices. In a panic, he ducked into a room with and open door and hid from the two figures making their way up from a staircase that led to a basement.

"Was that really necessary, Georgie?" asked a voice Thomas recognized as Samuel Seabury's from the debate team. Thomas leaned in to catch more of their conversation.

"Of course! We need people to fear us, Samuel dear. Without fear there's no control, and without control there's chaos." said a voice Thomas didn't recognize, but he noticed it did have a British accent. 

Thomas heard their footsteps draw  
nearer and he held his breath, not wanting to be caught. He watched as they past the room, well hidden in the shadows.

"I suppose you have a point. It's just- I rather liked Hamilton! I was hoping he'd join right away without all this 'intimidation' business," Samuel complained. Thomas' eyes widened. Hamilton? Intimidation? What? He moved out of the room a bit to hear better since the two had moved further down the hallway.

"Oh please! The boys will just rough him up a bit, get him a little scared, and then he'll have no choice but to join us! It's really-" the rest of the conversation was drowned out by the music as the couple made their way back into the main room. 

Thomas emerged from his hiding spot, pale like he'd seen a ghost. What did they do with Alexander? Where was he? Was he ok? Thomas felt his heart rate start to pick up in fear. He had to find Alexander! He had to make sure he was ok! 

Thomas ran down the hall and found the staircase, and then bolted down them. Once he was halfway he could already hear the sounds of a fight. Grunts and screams of pain, the sound of fists meeting flesh. He ran faster.

He then entered an open room and immediately saw Hamilton. He was being held back by a large man while another, rather smaller man punched him again and again. Hamilton was struggling, but he was really getting no where with the man holding his arms back. No one had noticed Thomas yet.

His heart was beating in his ears, he could feel the adrenaline pulsing in his veins, and all he could think was how dare these British twats hurt Alexander like this. Before he could think, he acted. He ran up the the man who was hurting Alexander and grabbed him roughly by the shoulder. And then, in one swift motion, he spun the bewildered man around, drew back his arm, formed a fist, and punched him square across his face. Thomas felt pain spark in his hand but he ignored it and watched as the man fell to the ground and stayed down. He was knocked out cold.

Thomas took a second to marvel at his own strength before he was pulled back to reality.

"Thomas!" Alexander yelled in surprise. Thomas turned to look at him, he had a couple good bruises and a black eye, as well as some blood running down his nose and the side of his face. But what really shocked Thomas, was the look of fear in his eyes. Thomas had never seen that before.

"The fuck you think you're doing?!" the other man bellowed. Thomas looked up at him, suddenly remembering he was there. He watched with wide eyes and the large man threw Alexander to the ground and stepped over him like he was a rag doll. Thomas felt another shot of adrenaline as he stood his ground and prepared to fight. The man in front of him scoffed a laugh and launched himself at Thomas. 

Without really thinking, Thomas jumped to the right and dodged the man, causing him to stumble. Thomas saw the moment of weakness and acted on it but kicking him swiftly in the side. The large man toppled to the ground with a groan. Thomas didn't waste any time though, because he knew he would be back up in a second. He gave the guy another kick in the same place as before and then one to his head. The man grunted in pain and clutched his side.

Thomas felt his heart beating rapidly in his chest as he turned around, grabbed Alexander off the ground, carried him in his arms bridal-style, and high-tailed it out of there before the man could get up off the ground. 

"Hey! What the fuck are you doing?!" Alexander shrieked as Thomas ran up the stairs.

"Umm, saving your ass!" Thomas replied, turning sharply to the right once he reached the top.

"Well put me down!" Alexander complained, thwacking on Thomas' chest. Thomas ignored him and darted into the room he had been hiding in before. He knew that guy was probably right on their tail and this was the closest place to hide. He went in, Alexander still in his arms, and ducked behind the door. And sure enough, the guy had just come up the stairs. Thomas watched as he looked both ways, and then made his way towards them.

"I'm serious let me- MMPH!" Alexander was silenced by Thomas' hand on his mouth. He squirmed in Thomas' arms and flailed about to try and free himself, but Thomas just tightened his grip.

"Shh!" Thomas hissed. Alexander stilled, finally realizing what was going on. Thomas watched anxiously as the guy walked right past their room and back out to the party. Thomas let out a breath of relief.

"MMMPH!" Alexander yelled, squirming and hitting Thomas once again. Thomas let go and he coughed a little before practically jumping out of his arms.

"What the hell was that? Are you stupid? Are you actually that stupid?! I fucking hate you! You stupid piece of-"

"Alexander!" Thomas snapped, actually managing to silence said man. Alex looked at him with an annoyed expression, which didn't really work since he had a black eye. Suddenly, Thomas' only concern was his black eye.

"Shit... they really hurt you, didn't they?" he whispered as he touched Alexander's eye softly. Alex made a small squawking noise and moved away from Thomas' touch, covering his own eye.

"Don't touch it you moron!" he snapped. Thomas sighed. He was going to have to get Alexander cleaned up and bandaged, but first he had to get them out of there.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Thomas whispered as he grabbed Alexander's hand and pulled him out of the room. "What? Why? Where are we going?" Alexander shot off his questions at a million miles per minute. 

"Relax! I have first aid supplies and a bathroom in my dorm! We can clean you up there," Thomas replied as the made their way down the hall and away from the music. He knew from his many wanderings over the last hour in search of James that there was a side door they could escape through. 

"No way am I going anywhere with you!" Alexander scoffed, trying to pry himself out of Thomas' death grip. "Oh, well where else would you like to go? Back down to that basement with those guys?" Thomas shot back. He opened the door and pulled Alexander through it.

Outside, the air was cold. Thomas remembered he had a jacket in the closet but he decided it wasn't worth it to go back inside and get it, so, instead he closed the door behind him and braced himself for the cold. In front of him, Alexander was glaring at him angrily. Thomas looked up at the sky and huffed impatiently.

"Yes, Alexander?" he asked. "How'd you know I was down there? Why'd you come help me? Why are you still helping me? Where are we- hey!"

Thomas shut him up by pulling him away from the ally they had suddenly found themselves in and back out onto the main street where he hailed for a taxi. They both got in, and much to Thomas' surprise, Alexander stopped complaining. They sat in silence as they rode back to the dormitory building. Thomas pulled out his phone and shot a text to James, saying that he was leaving and he'd see him later. Then, he also thought to ask him to get Thomas' coat for him if he remembered. Thomas saw Alexander pull out his own phone and text someone, probably for the same reason Thomas had.

They made it back to the school and Thomas paid the driver. Alexander remained quiet as they walked up the building. Thomas was starting to get suspicious, and then was proven correct in his thoughts when Alexander turned and started to make his way to his own building.

"Umm where do you think you're going?" Thomas snapped, grabbing Alexander by the wrist to stop him. Instead of yelling, Alexander calmly turned around and took a deep breath before saying, "home."

"No. You're coming with me," Thomas said as he pulled Alexander in the direction of his building. "Whhyyyyyyy?!" Alex whined, letting himself be dragged along by Thomas. "Because you won't take care of your injuries so I'm going to have to do that for you," Thomas replied. "That's not truuuuuuue!" Alex whined again, sobbing weakly. Thomas rolled his eyes at how pathetic he sounded. "Stop being a whiny brat!" Thomas snapped. "Then stop dragging me along like I'm six years old!" "Then stop acting like you're six years old!" 

They reached Thomas' room and he let Alexander go so that he could unlock the door. He went inside and switched on the light, then looked at the sulking Alexander expectantly. When he didn't move, Thomas huffed angrily and dragged him inside.

"Ow!" Alex yelped, pulling his hand away from Thomas. "Sorry," he muttered in reply, although he felt no remorse.

"Sit," Thomas said, or ordered, Hamilton and pointed at his bed. Hamilton, not entirely sure why, did as he was told and sat on the bed. He looked around the room. It was spacious for a single person dorm room, but of course it was. Thomas Jefferson only got the best, didn't he? 

Speaking of the prick, he came back with an ice bag wrapped in a towel. Alex watched as he knelt down in front of him, not really sure what to do. He was so close to his face and- whatwashedoing?

Alex's face went red as Thomas leaned closer and pressed the ice to his eye. Right, of course! His black eye! The ice for his black eye! Right...

Alex took the ice and shuffled away from Thomas, he didn't like how close in proximity they were. Thomas got the hint and stood up, then walked back to the bathroom. He came back a second later with another towel, this one looked damp, and then he got way too close again!

"I can do it myself, thanks," Alex muttered as he snatched the towel from Thomas and wiped the dried blood off his face. Thomas just shrugged and moved away again. Alex watched as he walked three paces and then leaned against the wall. Alex stared at him as he looked to the left, staring at the ground. He must have sensed Alex was staring at him because his eyes flicked back to him. Alex blushed from being caught staring, but he didn't look away.

"What?" Thomas asked. It wasn't a loud bark or an impatient snap like normal though, it was soft and it sounded like he was generally concerned. Alex shrugged. He wasn't going to say anything but then a question popped into his head.

"Why'd you help me?" he asked, drawing Thomas' gaze back onto him. Thomas looked surprised at the question he asked, but then he must have found something about it funny because he started to snicker.

"What?" Alex snapped.

"Contrary to what you might believe, Alexander, I'm not a complete asshole. I wasn't going to let them beat the shit out of you," Thomas replied.

"Really? Because that seems exactly like something you would do. And for your information, I had everything under control. I didn't need you to come flailing down there to save me!" he said angrily, turning away from Thomas. 

Thomas, for his part, didn't feel like arguing with Alexander, even if his logic was complete bullshit. So, instead, he asked, "Why were they- umm- doing that anyway?"

"Well, Seabury and that George guy wanted me to join their cult because I'm like the top shit here or whatever. And then when I said no they got all upset and those guys started wailing on me," Alex recited the story eloquently. Thomas raised his eyebrows in disbelief, or doubt was probably the better word.

"Cult?" he asked. "You know, their fraternity," Alex replied vaguely. "I hardly think a fraternity is a cult," Thomas replied. "Oh really? Then I guess I'm not bleeding internally just because I said no?" Alex quipped back as he shot a glare towards Thomas. Thomas furrowed his eyebrows.

"I guess you have a point there..." he said, because he couldn't really argue with that. Alexander scoffed and turned away again. Thomas sighed and rolled his eyes. "What is it now?" he drawled exasperatedly.

"It just figures that you'd be the type to defend such hierarchy bullshit," Alexander snapped. Thomas wanted to rip his eyes out because of course Alexander would assume instead of ask for clarification. But, instead of arguing, he decided to do the clarifying for him.

"Actually I think fraternities are stupid and hierarchy is bullshit. University would be much better off without them."

Alexander looked at him with a stunned expression and Thomas scoffed at it. "Sorry, I just assumed you'd be into that stuff. You know, because of how rich and privileged you are? You'd fit right in with George King," Alexander said calmly, shrugging and going back to wiping the blood off his face. Thomas felt the blood start to rise to his head. He frowned.

"So just because my parents have money I'm immediately a horrible person?" he asked as he crossed his arms angrily. Alexander shrugged again. "Well it certainly doesn't make you a good person," he muttered. Thomas decided to throw away any previous desires of not wanting to argue with Hamilton. 

"Oh so you're such a saint because you're poor?! You're logic is bullshit!" Thomas snapped. He saw the way Alexander's face heated up, the way his fist clenched, and he started to regret his last sentence.

"You know, I wouldn't expect you to understand! You wouldn't know what my life is like- how could you!? All you had to do to get into this school was ask your daddy and he got you the first spot! Meanwhile other people had to actually work to get here! People like me!" 

Thomas gawked at him. Was he serious? Did he really think Thomas' life was that simple?

"That's not true! I had to apply and write an essay just like everyone else! Yes, my father payed for my tuition but that doesn't mean I didn't work hard to get here!" 

"Oh really? Well good for you! You wrote a three page essay while I had to apply for every scholarship imaginable and make sure I got them because there was no chance I could have come here without them! In fact, I had to write a whole freaking paper so that people would notice me and give me money JUST TO GET OFF THAT STUPID FREAKING ISLAND!" Alexander nearly screamed at the last few words.

Thomas blinked and stared at Alexander in shock. He seemed so upset, it hurt Thomas just to look at him. And his words, the things he said...

"I'm sorry," Thomas gulped. "I didn't realize it was that bad..."

"I don't need your pity!" Alexander snapped.

Thomas stayed silent. He didn't want to upset him more, so he held his tongue. Until he didn't because he couldn't stand the silence. But instead of apologizing, he decided to just keep the conversation going.

"What was it like?" he asked softly. "What?" Alexander snapped. "Your island. What was it like there?" Thomas asked again, keeping his voice soft and calm. It seemed to work, because Alexander's face softened and he looked at the ground, a complex look on his face. Thomas was just about to say he didn't have to talk if he didn't want to, but then he answered.

"It was... nice. Beautiful actually. It was always so warm, nothing like this frozen hell. And it was small. Very small. Everyone knew everyone and everyone was nice. It was a poor little town, but it was my home."

Alexander kept going, he seemed to be lost in a trance, unaware that Thomas was even there.

"My mother always said that it was small so that we could all help each other and be a family. Everyone loved my mother. She was the kindest person ever. She'd always give and expect nothing in return. She worked two jobs and still she'd make the time to help our neighbours with their fields or me with my homework. She was amazing, she was the best thing about that place."

Alexander smiled at the ground for a minute, lost in memory. Thomas just watched him from the wall. He looked so small in that moment, yet so at peace. Thomas liked hearing about his past. He wanted him to tell him more, to keep going.

"She sounds wonderful," he said softly. Alexander looked up at him, a bit surprised he was still there. And then, to Thomas' disbelief, he smiled at him. 

"She was. She really was." Thomas felt a pang to his heart as he realized Alexander was using the past tense. But he didn't have time to comment on it because Alexander was speaking again.

"She was the type of person who fought through everything. She never quit, never stopped, no matter how hard things were. She'd just give and give and give. Even when we were both in bed, sick, she gave. She gave me her medicine, her food, her water. She gave me everything, just so I could stay alive. Even up until her dying breath she was kind and generous. It was her legacy. And now it's my legacy to fulfill. I have to continue it, I have to help others like she did. That's why I'm here, that's why I write, that's why I fight. For her. And I can't let her down. I just can't."

Thomas stared in awe. How could this person be the same Alexander who called him stupid names and fought with him on every tiny subject? How could Alexander have such raw, powerful emotion, such a horrible, devastating history, and still keep fighting like this? To say Thomas was amazed would be an understatement.

Alexander looked up at him and frowned, his walls going back up. "If you tell anyone about this I swear I will kill you," he threatened, although it didn't have that much threat to it. Thomas shook his head. "I won't."

"Then what happened after your mother died? Did your father take care of you?" Thomas asked, not wanting the conversation to end. But at his words, Alexander just let out a bitter laugh and stared angrily at the floor. 

"My father? No. No, that bastard wasn't around to take care of me. He left my mum and I when I was ten. Just took up and left us with nothing but his debt. Never saw him again. As if he'd take care of me- as if I'd LET him take care of me. Fucking bastard can be dead for all I care!"

Alexander's words were harsh and full of hatred, Thomas had never seen him so bluntly hateful towards anyone. He felt his insides twist in a knot. So Alexander was an orphan? Who took care of him then? Where did he go after his mother died? Instead of asking all the questions that piled up in his head, Thomas decided to say something else, something he would soon come to regret saying.

"Well that's something we have in common..." he muttered. Alexander looked up at him, confused and intrigued. "What?" he asked. Thomas shrugged and stared at the ground. "We both have bastards for fathers."

Thomas jumped when he heard the ice bag slam to the ground. He looked up to see Alexander standing and staring at him, absolutely furious. Thomas felt his eyes widen.

"Are you kidding me? Are you fucking kidding me?! Are you really comparing your life to mine?! Are you really saying your dad is as bad as mine!? My dad left us with nothing! If he hadn't left, my mom would probably still be alive! And you're saying your dad is just as bad?!? Your dad who got you into this school?! Who's payed for anything and everything you've ever wanted?!? WHO'S BEEN THERE FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY YOUR WHOLE LIFE?!?! No! No you don't get to compare your life with mine! You fucking PRICK!" Alexander yelled. He was so full of emotion and anger Thomas was surprised he didn't burst into flames. 

Thomas was taken aback by his outburst, but not for more then a moment or two because then he was fucking pissed, and before he knew it, he was yelling too.

"No! Stop! You don't know what my life was like either, Hamilton! You don't get to assume anything! I may not have been poor but I didn't exactly have it easy all the time!"

"Oh what? You didn't get the pony you asked for for Christmas? You didn't get to swim with the dolphins at the zoo?! Well, while you were off sucking on your silver spoon, I was STARVING! While you were playing tennis, I was working my ASS off in a field! When you were throwing tantrums, I WAS FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE!"

Thomas felt every vein, every blood vessel in his body boil with anger. He uncrossed his arms and pushed off the wall, taking a step closer to Hamilton.

"You're right! My family's rich! You're right! I didn't have half the struggles you did! And you're right, my father payed for my things, our house, my future! My father just gave me EVERYTHING, right? WELL GUESS WHAT ELSE HE GAVE ME!?"

Thomas was a foot away from Alexander now, towering over the still fuming man, meeting him with an equal level of emotion. He didn't mean to say what he said next, but he couldn't stop himself.

"A FUCKING BEATING EVERY SINGLE NIGHT!" 

Thomas heard his words echo through the small room. Instantly, he backed off. He stepped back. His face fell. His fists unclenched. Did he really just say that?

He looked at Alexander. He was still angry but he had a confused expression on his face. He stared back at Thomas, something akin to worry in his eyes. They both stood there for a moment, breathing heavily and letting Thomas' words sink in. 

"You don't know-" Thomas gasped as he took a step back, his back hitting the wall. "Anything-" he slid down the wall and collapsed on the floor. "About me." he finished, his head hanging in his hands which were propped up on his knees.

Alex watched Thomas sit there, both of them still catching their breath after the outburst. The air was heavy. Alex didn't like it. He replayed Thomas' words in his head. Beating? As in, Thomas was abused? He shuddered. That couldn't be right... could it?

Alex thought back to the one day outside of Washington's classroom. Thomas wasn't acting right, he was muttering, he was disoriented, he was lost. He seemed almost insane. And he was scared when Alex touched him. The pieces started to fall into place. But what could Alex say to him? What could he do? He stood there and stared at Thomas, because he had no idea.

Eventually, he sat back down on the bed. Eventually, he spoke. 

"Are you... ok?" he whispered.

"No."

Thomas looked back up at him and asked, "Are you ok?"

"No," Alex shook his head. Thomas sighed.

"Well look at us, aren't we pathetic?" Thomas muttered, although it seemed like he was talking to himself. Alex swallowed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked timidly. Thomas shot him a look, but Alex wouldn't let himself get angered by it. Thomas had let him vent earlier, now it was his turn. 

"It helps you know. And I already told you more shit about me then I've ever told anyone... even Eliza..." he reasoned. 

Thomas went to refuse his offer, but then snapped his mouth shut. He eyed Alexander cautiously. He had opened up quite a bit... and who knew if it would work. Thomas had never actually tried it before, James knew a little but not nearly enough for Thomas to feel better about it. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

"My father's a prick. He's a biggot. I hate him with everything... but I guess the feelings mutual. I have two older sisters, my dad loves them with everything, but all he really ever wanted was a boy so he could 'pass on his wisdom' or whatever. Maybe he just wanted someone he could bully into becoming just like him. Well it wasn't going to be me.

"Ever since I was little he tried to enforce his opinions and his ways on me. But I would never listen. Instead of playing baseball I wanted to play dress-up with my sisters. Instead of learning how to fight I wanted to learn the violin. Instead of wearing the awful suits he bought me I wanted to wear my sisters dresses. To me I was just being me, but to him I was acting like a girl, I was weak. I wasn't a man. He needed me to be a man.

"Every time I disobeyed him or I did something remotely feminine he would..." Thomas felt his throat close up. He glanced up at Alexander. He was watching him intently, an unreadable look on his face. Thomas swallowed and continued.

"... punish me, I guess you could say. And he was smart about it, he made it so my mom was never around to see it. I was too scared of what he'd do if I told her... so I said nothing. And for years, that's how things were. I learned to be quiet and be the man my father wanted me to be. By first year of high school I was on the football team, I had a girlfriend- who was awful, by the way. Stupid bratty bitch. Anyways, I did everything he wanted me to, but he was still never happy.

"He'd say 'why aren't you getting into more fights? Why aren't you more aggressive on the field? Are you still a fucking pussy or what, Thomas?' And the punishments never really stopped, they just became more periodic. By the end of that year I realized I was gay and broke up with my girlfriend. I didn't tell anyone though, because I couldn't really. My dad would have killed me."

Thomas stopped to take a breath. He was slightly surprised at how easy this was, to open up to someone, even if it was Hamilton. In a way, it almost made it easier.

"So then what?" Hamilton asked. He was perched on the edge of the bed, his legs drawn up and his arms hugging his knees close to his chest. He looked like a tiny little ball. It was endearing, cute even. Thomas continued.

"Then I somehow convinced him to let me go study in Paris for a year. I was in the eleventh grade, I was sixteen, and I was gay, but they didn't know that. Anyways I went and it was probably the best year of my life. Not only was I free from my father's... habits. I was free to be myself, for the first time ever. I wore the clothes I wanted, I did the things I wanted, I FLIRTED with BOYS for the first time ever. It was amazing."

"And you met Laf there?" Alex asked suddenly. Thomas nodded.

"Yeah, Gil went to the same high school I did while I was there. They were wild and eccentric and even more queer than I was, we basically became best friends right away," Thomas laughed. 

"Wait... when you said that kissing Laf was like a walk down memory lane..." Alex suddenly piped up. Thomas laughed and then smiled.

"We were very close," he replied vaguely. 

"Did you guys ever... uhh..."

"Have sex? We were horny teenagers in Paris and I was finally experiencing what it was like to be gay. So yes, we had sex." 

"Ew."

"More than a few times, actually."

"Ok, that's enough."

Thomas laughed. Alex did too. They stared at each other for a moment before Alex asked for him to continue the story. Thomas got nervous, he didn't like the next part of the story.

"You don't want to hear more past that," Thomas muttered as he ran his fingers through his hair. Alexander frowned. Now he needed to hear the rest. He thought for a moment.

"Come on, we've already shared this much. And it's not like we're ever going to use it against each other, we're not that cruel." he reasoned. Thomas still looked worried. 

"What if I told you something I haven't told anyone else?" Alex whispered. Thomas looked up at him, fear and hope in his eyes. He shrugged. "If you want to," he muttered. Alex took that as yes.

"When I was seventeen, a hurricane destroyed my town. I didn't die, but I almost did. And my house was completely demolished, as were most of the other houses. And people were dead. They were just in the streets, dead." 

"Holy shit," Thomas breathed. Alexander nodded, but he didn't want to dwell on that specific horror, so he looked up at Thomas expectantly.

Thomas sighed and fidgeted nervously. "Are you sure you want to hear it? It's not good," he said. "Stop making excuses and tell me already," Alexander snapped. Thomas pulled a face. "What? I'm curious," he replied.

"Curiosity killed the cat, Alexander," Thomas warned. 

"But satisfaction brought it back," Alex chimed.

"Well when will you be satisfied?" Thomas asked. 

Alex shrugged and replied, "I'm never satisfied." 

Thomas snorted and asked, "Is that right?"

"I've never been satisfied," he said. "I work and I work and I work for it, but I'm never satisfied once I get it. When I see something I want, work for it and I don't stop until I get it. And even then, I'm still not satisfied. I always want more."

Thomas hummed in thought and stared at Alexander. "That's something we have in common," he said. Alexander rolled his eyes and pulled his knees in closer. "Just tell me the rest of the story."

Thomas sighed, closed his eyes, mentally started to prepare himself for what he was about to say next, and then continued.

"Well, when I got back from Paris I knew everything would go back to the way it was, and I had made my peace with that. I told myself I had fun in Paris but now it was time to come back to the real world. But on the night I came home I learned that my father had bought tickets for my mother and sisters to see the ballet. It was just him and me. I thought it would be ok because I hadn't done anything wrong, that my father knew about anyways, but I was wrong.

"Turns out my father knew every single thing I did when I was in Paris. I don't know how he knew, but he did. He knew everything, from the clothes I was wearing right down to Lafayette themselves. And he was so mad. He confronted me in the kitchen, asked me about France, all casual, and then he whips out a picture of Lafayette and asks me if I knew them. I said no, but that only made him angrier.

"'Are you sure you don't know him? Because you spent an awful lot of time with him' he said, 'Tell me, Thomas, did you enjoy fucking this boy? Did you have fun sucking his cock and fucking him in the ass? Hmm? Is it men who get you off now, or was your little girlfriend in ninth grade a cover up so no one saw the DISGUSTING FAGGOT THAT YOU ARE!'"

Thomas sucked in a breath. He tried to stop himself from shaking but he hardly could. It was becoming too real now... it was morphing into a flashback... he had to get a grip before he went crazy.

Alexander watched as Thomas gripped his knees and tried to control himself. He was visibly shaking now, it was almost scary. Alex waited patiently though, he didn't want to rush Thomas through it, especially if it was this hard for him to tell it. He felt something pull at his heart, what could Thomas' father have done to mess him up so badly?

"Shit..." Thomas breathed as he closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the wall.

"You don't have to-" 

"No, a deal's a deal," Thomas said sternly, interrupting Alexander, who was really going to say, "you don't have to rush" but he didn't admit that. He just sat there and waited, silently.

"He told me there would be severe punishments for my crimes. I told him being gay wasn't a crime. He didn't like that. But then I told him to do whatever he wanted, I could take it. I said I wasn't going to let him force me to be like him, I was going to be myself, and if he didn't like that, he could beat me or throw me out, I don't care! But then he just got really quiet... it was eery, the silence. He pulled out the picture of Lafayette again and stared at it for like three minutes before saying anything.

"He said something about Lafayette being a fine young man, but he was poisoned because of his sexuality. He said the world would probably be better without another of 'his kind'. He asked me if I missed 'my little boy toy'. I didn't answer. I didn't know what to say. And then he-" Thomas took a breath, pressed his open palms into his knees, steadied himself, and kept going.

"He ripped up the picture and threw it in the trash. I had to just stand there and watch. I didn't know what he was thinking or what he was going to do but I was too scared to move. I've seen my dad angry loads of times but this was different. This was almost insanity," Thomas' voice cracked.

Alexander's eyes were wide. 

"It took a while- for him to speak again- but when he did he told me that I was never allowed to see Laf again. I told him that wouldn't be a problem since they lived in Paris. He got mad and he-" Thomas swallowed "-he slapped me and told me I could never see or talk to them again and if I did he would know.

"But then I started to get angry. I was just so sick of him and I hated him so much- still do- and I started to yell. I told him I wasn't a little boy anymore, that I could take whatever he did to me. I told him I'd tell mom what a monster he was but that just made him snap. He yelled if I ever told anyone he would kick me out and cut me off from my entire family. He said that I belonged to him, that I was his and I had to do whatever he told me to do. So I said 'well what else could you possibly do to hurt me?!' He said, 'you haven't seen nothing yet boy!'"

Thomas spat out the last part as if it was really his father saying those words, and in his mind it was. In his mind it was all clear as day, like it was happening right there and then, right in front of him. He remembered it too well. 

"What did he do?" Alexander asked. Thomas looked up. He had brought his legs back down and was sitting on the edge of the bed, gripping the mattress so hard his knuckles were white. He looked worried, scared even. His eyes were huge.  
Thomas ran his hands through his hair. How could he say it out loud? How could he possible recount the worst thing ever to happen to him out loud? He swallowed and realized he couldn't, but he could let Alexander know a different way.

Thomas started to undo the buttons on his shirt. Alexander looked at him like he was crazy, but didn't say anything. Thomas stood up and shrugged the shirt off. Alexander stood up too. Thomas held his shirt in one hand, glanced at Alexander, and turned around. 

Alex immediately recognized the scars on his back as marks from a whip. The skin that had been marked was a lighter shade than the rest of his back, although Alex could only imagine what they looked like before they scarred over. There were so many too, almost his whole back was covered. Alex could tell where the deeper ones had been because the skin folded over in places, like there were still cuts there. Alex held his breath. He couldn't even imagine how much that must have hurt, and to be hurt like that by your own father, someone you had to see everyday, the person who payed for your school, your future. What must that have been like?

Alexander felt a pang of sympathy for Thomas, something he thought he'd never feel towards his sworn enemy. He stepped closer, touched one of the scars and traced it. Thomas jumped a little and Alex removed his hand immediately.

"Does it hurt?" Alex asked, feeling another pang to the chest. Thomas turned and shook his head. "They're just scars, they don't hurt," he muttered. Alex stepped back and let him pull his shirt back on, however he did leave the buttons undone in the front. 

"I have a scar on my thigh from being impaled with a pole during the hurricane," Alexander blurted out before he could stop himself. And then he literally cringed at himself because why would a person be so stupid? Thomas had just shown him what would have been the biggest nightmare Alex could imagine, and he went and talked about his scars, as if they were greater?

"Sorry, that was stupid and inconsiderate of me. I- you-"

"It's ok," Thomas said, stopping Alexander from continuing. "Let's not argue on the degree of out pain. Let's not rank our scars from most horrible to least horrible. We both have them, they caused us pain, it's stupid to think that one of them is 'greater' than the other." 

Alexander nodded in agreement. What Thomas said made sense. Suddenly, a thought struck him and he looked up at Thomas in confusion.

"But, Laf goes to this school. You have a class with him? How-"

Thomas started to chuckle and Alexander cut himself off in surprise. 

"I know. It's actually very ironic. That the one person I 'wasn't allowed to ever see again' shows up at my school. My father probably has no idea," Thomas explained.

"But what if he does? I mean, he knew before, didn't he? What's he gonna do?" Alexander asked, actual worry and concern in his voice. It took Thomas by surprise a bit, how concerned he looked.

"I don't know," Thomas breathed, running his hands through his hair. "I think my father would have said something by now if he knew. But whatever he does I can handle it. It's not like I haven't already survived all the hell he put me through."

Alexander stared at him for awhile, keeping eye contact the whole time. He seemed deep in thought, but then again he always looked that way. Thomas had grown to like it though, the way he stared with such intensity, it was nearly breathtaking. Thomas felt something wash over him suddenly, something akin to longing. He longed for something, something that had to do with Alexander. Was it his brain? Was Thomas envious of his knowledge? His determination? His perseverance?

Alexander stood suddenly, and as soon as he did, so did Thomas. They took a couple steps towards each other. Thomas felt the feeling grow, suddenly he itched to touch Alexander, to hold him, to kiss him even. He took another step forward. He didn't know what was wrong with him, all he knew was what he was feeling and that Alexander, even with a black eye, was truly beautiful. Another step, and then-

"It's late," Alexander muttered.

Thomas blinked himself out of his trance and backed away, his heart stinging.

"I should go," he said, pointing at the door.

Thomas nodded and looked away, praying to God Alexander didn't see the blush on his cheeks. He swallowed thickly.

"Yeah, 'course," he muttered, his voice raspy, why was his voice raspy?

"Ok... thanks for the ice..." 

"Yeah..."

"And you know, all the other stuff."

Thomas looked at him again and- god- he was so beautiful. Sososososososo beautiful. Why hadn't he noticed it before? 

Thomas smiled and nodded politely. Alexander's breath hitched, and then he was rushing out of there, swinging the door shut. Thomas braced himself for the slam, but it never came. Alexander had stopped the door just before it slammed and let it shut softly behind him. 

Thomas wasn't sure why, but he suddenly wanted Alexander back there with him. He ran to the door, went to open it, but stopped as soon as his hand hit the doorknob. What was he doing? He stared long and hard at the door, he didn't move, he didn't even blink. He just stood there and listened to the sound of his own heart beating, thinking about Alexander.

And suddenly it became clear. It was Alexander. It was an entirely knew thing! He wasn't Hamilton anymore, he was Alexander! Alexander Alexander Alexander Alexander Alexander!

He staggered backwards. He felt like he had been slapped in the face, or punched in the stomach, by a huge, ugly, sad giant named Feelings. He collapsed onto his bed. 

He had FEELINGS for Alexander Hamilton. 

"Shit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you epiphanies were realized.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: vivid depictions of a panic attack
> 
> Alternate title for this chapter: the aftermath.
> 
> It has a double meaning, see. It's the aftermath after the party from the previous two chapter but it's also because I wrote it today AFTER my MATH exam....
> 
> Yeah I know I'm not good at jokes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a day late I had exams yesterday and today that I needed to focus on. But, it's here now!
> 
> Also, another thing I need to address is I have to change my posting date to Sunday because I'm working at a summer camp all summer and I won't be able to post on monday's since I work all week. 
> 
> That being said, I might need more time to write the chapters since I'm going to be super busy. It might take me two weeks instead of one so if my posts aren't always on time that's why.
> 
> I'll try my best though I promise! And there isn't too much left of this fic anyways and I have the next two chapters all planned out and stuff so hopefully those will be on time.
> 
> Anyways, this has been the notes before the chapter, now go reeeeaaaad.

As soon as Lafayette woke up they already knew they were sad. Even before they opened their eyes, they could feel their heart slowly breaking all over again. 

It was the type of sadness that didn't even feel like sadness anymore. It felt like nothing, nothing at all. Lafayette felt nothing at all. They felt empty, they felt hopeless, they felt desperate, but they didn't feel sad. They didn't feel the need to cry, they only wanted to sleep and forget about their pain, they were always so tired and they were getting tired of it.

And they weren't stupid, they knew that these feelings were the start of depression, but they were so tired they didn't even care if they had depression. But they also knew it was unlikely, since people with depression had a very hard time EVER feeling happy, and they felt happy quite often, just not right then. Not on this day. Not today. Not on the anniversary of their parents' death.

They felt their heart break a little more. Today was the reason they had to get so drunk last night. They needed to forget about tomorrow, but now tomorrow was today and they remembered again. They rubbed their eyes. Well, it probably wouldn't help matters to stay in bed all day in denial, they supposed sunlight and maybe exercise might help. They opened their eyes.

"Wait."

Why was the wall on the wrong side? And why was the ceiling a different colour? And why we're the sheets and different colour and- WHOSARMISTHAT?!

Lafayette gasped when they saw Hercules lying next to them, still sound asleep. And just like that, everything came back to them. The walk back to his apartment. The water. The way Lafayette had been acting. That last one made them cringe. They remembered Hercules not wanting to go through with it, why had they pressured him?! But then he also remembered how Hercules had been the one to kiss them, and how enthusiastic he was about it... and the rest of it...

Lafayette suddenly let out a small giggle at the memory of the night before. How had this happened?! Did they really had SEX?! With HERCULES!? Hercules Mulligan the incredibly hot guy they thought they would NEVER have a chance with so they didn't even let themselves IMAGINE it?! WHAT?!?

They smiled and stared at the wall in a daze. And- although they didn't imagine it- it had been better than anything they COULD HAVE imagined. Lafayette felt themselves glow red. They covered their face in their hands to hide it, although there was no one to hide it from. They shifted to have a better look at Hercules and that's when they realized they were still completely naked. 

They felt themselves turn bright red and- unable to contain themselves- they giggled again. WHAT?!?

A weird, warm feeling grew inside of them as they grinned like an idiot and stared down at Hercules. They hugged themselves and bit their lip to stop themselves from screaming hysterically. They felt the warm, amazing feeling of happiness flood them, and they soaked up every bit of it, because they knew happiness doesn't last. 

Lafayette slipped out of the bed, carefully so as not to wake the sleeping beauty, and started the hunt for their clothes. They found their shirt at the end of the bed and their pants under the bed. They dressed themselves and stole one more look at Herc. His chest rose and fell perfectly, his face was so calm and at peace. God, he was beautiful.

Lafayette opened the door and stepped outside in search of the bathroom. Instead, he found Herc's brother's room. Lafayette peered inside out of curiosity and then immediately regretted it. His brother was home now, and he was awake! Thankfully, he didn't see Lafayette poke their head in or pull it out again. Lafayette felt the panic start to build inside them as they realized the situation they were in.

Hercules probably didn't want his brother to know about his sex life, and his brother probably didn't want to see his little brother's one-night-stand in the morning. Hell, Laf wasn't even sure if his brother knew he was gay! They had to get out of there before they were discovered. They felt their heart pound as the tiptoed quickly down the small hall and out to the open living room/kitchen. They grabbed their jacket off the floor and then grabbed their shoes from beside the door. 

They went to open the door but then paused. They wanted to see Hercules. They wanted to tell him that they enjoyed last night, that they want to do it again-ohgoddidtheyeverwanttodoitagain- sometime. But not just sometime, all the time. They wanted to be with Hercules all the time. But there wasn't time now to tell him that. Lafayette, in their panicked state, decided they could just call Hercules and they could talk later. They opened the door and closed it softly behind them.

\-----

Herc woke up not too long after. He opened his eyes and stretched like a cat, letting his joints crack and pop satisfyingly. He was surprised to feel that his muscles were sore and a little tired. And then he remembered why.

He shot up straight in his bed and looked around his room wildly. His heart fell. Lafayette wasn't there. 

He pushed his hands through his hair as his heart stung. He shouldn't have been so naïve as to think that what had happened last night was more than just a one-night-stand. Lafayette had just been drunk and lonely and maybe looking for some comfort, they did seem rather upset about something. Hercules closed his eyes and tried to wrap his head around how stupid he was. Seriously?! Did he really have to go and sleep with the person he liked who didn't like him back and now was probably embarrassed to even be around him and- shit he had just ruined his friendship with Laf.

Well maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration but it didn't make him feel any better. He dragged his hands down his face and decided to just get on with his day. He should've known this would happen so he was prepared to deal with the consequences for being so stupid.

He got up and checked his phone. There were a couple texts from Alexander saying that he was leaving the party early. They were time stamped around 11:37. But he and Laf had already left the party by then? He shrugged and figured Alex just didn't know he and Laf had left. 

He walked out of his room and into the hallway. He shouted a good morning to his brother who was cooking something on the stove. Then he walked into the bathroom and decided to shower. Maybe if he scrubbed hard enough the memories from the pervious night would be washed away.

\----

By the time Lafayette got back to their dorm room they felt so guilty about leaving Hercules' place without a goodbye that they couldn't wait any longer to call him. They couldn't even wait until they were inside their room and pulled out their phone while still in the hallway. He pressed on the phone icon on Hercules' name and listened to it ring.

"Hey, this is Herc. I'm not available right now but you can leave a message. BEEP"

Hercules' voice sounded through the answering machine. Lafayette frowned. Maybe he wasn't awake yet? They left a message anyways.

"Hi, Hercules. It's me. Umm... I'm sorry I left so suddenly this morning. I didn't want to wake you and your brother was there and I didn't want to make things more awkward..." Lafayette took a breath and sighed. This was by far the worst message they had ever left. They tried to gather their thoughts and continued. "Soooo, anyways- uhhh- can we talk later? Like in person I mean? I just need to talk to you about last night and-"

Lafayette stopped mid sentence. Just then, the door to their dorm room opened and John walked out. He stopped and stared at Laf in shock. Laf lowered the phone and slipped it in their pocket.

"Laf? What are you doing out here? Where were you last night? Why didn't you come home?" John asked, a worried look in his eyes. Lafayette panicked. They had two options, come out to John and say they slept with Hercules or lie. They didn't want to make things more complicated, so, they lied.

 

"Umm, I wasn't feeling well... Hercules brought me to his apartment to rest but I ended up falling asleep on his couch," they explained awkwardly. They were never good at lying but John seemed to buy it. He shrugged and said, "Alright. Hope you're feeling better."

Lafayette sighed with relief and nodded their head. John shuffled past them to the bathroom. Over his shoulder he added, "You might wanna take a shower though."

They winced, realizing they probably didn't look or smell the greatest at that moment. They figured John had a point and went into their dorm to grab a towel and some soap. Once inside, they pulled their phone out of their pocket. They gasped when they saw the call was still going. They thought they had pressed the end button! They decided to just hang up and not bother with an explanation, Hercules probably won't even hear anything else since it was in their pocket the whole time. They left their phone on their bed and went to go shower.

\-----

Hercules emerged from the bathroom after a long shower feeling maybe slightly better. But not really. He dried his hair with a towel and grabbed his phone from the counter. He walked back to his room and flopped on his bed. He turned on the phone.

Voicemail from: Laf.

He sat up in his bed, his heart leaping. Laf called him? Why? What did the message say? He slid open his phone and clicked on the message with shaking hands.

"Hi, Hercules. It's me. Umm... I'm sorry I left so suddenly this morning. I didn't want to wake you and your brother was there and I didn't want to make things more awkward..." there was a pause and Herc heard them sigh, "Soooo, anyways- uhhh- can we talk later? Like in person I mean? I just need to talk to you about last night and..." there was some sort of muffling sound and then he heard John's voice, but it was soft and distant.

"Laf? What are you doing out here? Where were you last night? Why didn't you come home?"

He heard Lafayette reply with, "Umm, I wasn't feeling well... Hercules brought me to his apartment to rest but I ended up falling asleep on his couch."

His heart fell. Laf just lied about last night. 

He heard John say something else but he couldn't quite make it out. Then there was more shuffling and then the call ended.

Hercules stared at the blank screen on his phone for a long time. The more he stared, the more he was confused and the more his heart stung. 

Lafayette wanted to talk about last night. They sounded strained and unable to put the proper words together. They didn't want to make things more awkward? So things were already awkward? The more he thought about it the worse he felt.

Lafayette really did regret what happened last night. Hercules felt any tiny sliver of hope he had shatter on the ground. He felt stupider than ever. 

"Well, that's what I get for actually having feelings for someone. Shit!" he muttered frustratedly. He closed his eyes and tried to stop the stinging pain in his heart. Whatever, if Laf wanted to forget about it, he would forget about it. Last night meant nothing to him, he was just a little drunk and a little horny. Whatever. No big deal. They would both forget about it and move past it. No hurt feelings.

He frowned as he opened his phone again and pulled up Laf's text conversation. He composed a short message and hit the send button with a little more force than necessary. Then, he got dressed, grabbed his bag, and headed out to the school campus.

\-----

By the time Lafayette had gotten out of the shower it was well past 10:00. They walked back to their room and opened the door. John was gone, he said something about studying with Alex. Lafayette sat down on their bed and picked up their phone.

From: Hercules  
I'll be in the library around 9:50 if you want to talk.

Lafayette smiled at their phone. Finally, they would see him again. Finally they could tell him how they felt. Their heart did a little leap. 

To: Hercules  
Ok, I'm on my way

They hit send and got their shoes. Then they were out the door. They made their way over to the library, growing more and more impatient. They just wanted to see him again so badly. Once they made it there (finally) they looked around for him. It was fairly busy, there were college students everywhere studying in groups or alone. It made a lot of sense, since the exams for first term were next week. Lafayette themselves had a ton of last minute cramming to do, but right then finding Hercules was more important.

And they found him. He was sitting alone at a small wooden table off in one corner. Lafayette beamed as they made their way over. Hercules was hunched over the table with papers and books spread out everywhere. He was reading something and had his headphones in, softly tapping his pencil along with the beat of the music. 

Lafayette walked as fast as they could without tripping over their own feet. They made it to the table and stood across from Hercules, their hands resting on the back of a chair. Hercules didn't seem to notice them at first but after a couple seconds he looked up. Lafayette saw his face light up in surprise. They smiled down at him, unable to stop themselves. 

"Hey," he said as he removed his headphones. Lafayette's heart skipped a beat. Their smile grew. 

"Hi," they replied. They stared into his eyes for another second, another blissful second, before continuing. 

"So I-"

"Wait," Hercules interrupted them, putting up his hand to gesture for them not to continue. Lafayette stopped and stared at him questioningly.

"Before you say anything let me just talk," he continued, not meeting Laf's eyes anymore. Something about his tone of voice and his body language felt off. Lafayette felt their stomach lurch in nervousness as he continued.

"I know last night was a mistake, you don't have to explain yourself it's fine. You were drunk and I was a little drunk and we went too far. But it's done and there's no point in dwelling on it. And besides, we're friends and it would make things weirder if we did anything about it. So, it's in the past, it's forgotten and we don't have to worry about it. Ok?" 

Lafayette felt like they had been slapped by a ton of bricks. The more Hercules said the more they became confused and hurt. What did he mean last night was a mistake? Did he honestly regret it that much? Did he really want to just forget about it? They had thought he had enjoyed it, that he had maybe wanted to be more than friends...

The more Lafayette thought about his words the more their heart stung. They tried to hide the pained expression on their face, they were already embarrassed enough by this point, they didn't want for Hercules to see them upset as well. They narrowed their eyes and clenched their fists, digging into the skin on their palms with their nails to stop themselves from shaking.

Hercules was barely even paying attention to them now. He had gone back to writing something in his book. Lafayette swallowed down the lump in their throat, shoved their hurt feelings back down and stared down at him. 

"Ok, if that is what you want," they said, trying to keep any emotion from their voice. It didn't work, they still sounded hurt. But if Hercules noticed, he was pretending he didn't, which somehow hurt even more. He just nodded and looked up briefly before looking down again. Lafayette felt a jab to their heart. They wouldn't be able to keep it together for much longer. They were already shaking and it seemed impossible to get rid of the lump in their throat now.

"Fine." they managed to croak out before their throat went completely dry and raw. They spun on their heels, not daring to stay a second longer, and marched away as fast as they could. Even before they made it out of the library they could feel tears pricking the corners of their eyes.

How could they be so stupid?! They were so angry with themselves that they wanted to slap themselves. They bit down on the inside of their mouth and squeezed their fists tighter. Little sparks of pain erupted on their palms but they didn't care. The pain they were feeling inside was much worse.

They hated themselves for thinking- for hoping Hercules had feelings for them. They hated themselves for being so drunk and stupid. They hated themselves for feeling this way, for letting themselves be so affected by this. 

They walked across campus and back to the dorm room. The tears were now streaming down their face and they were powerless to try and stop them. All they could do was duck their head down and hope no one saw. But it wasn't like it mattered, they were already so embarrassed and ashamed they didn't even care what other people thought of them at that moment.

They got back to their room and thanked the lord John was still out. They slammed the door shut and threw their phone onto the bed. It bounced weakly and then laid still. Lafayette frowned at it. They had wanted more, they had wanted it to break- well they wanted something to break. They were so angry and upset and hurt, they needed to wreck something.

They looked wildly around their room but nothing caught their eye. Why did they have nothing that they could break? They just needed to throw something on the ground and watch it shatter into a million pieces, was that too much to ask for?

They stood in the middle of the room, fists clenched and shoulders tight. They squeezed their eyes shut and felt a couple more tears slip down their cheek. They could feel something tugging on their heart, pulling it down into their stomach. Why had they been so stupid.

They threw their arms up angrily and flopped on their bed. Why did they have to go and sleep with Hercules? Why did they have to go and ruin everything? Why did the world have to go and break their heart all over again? It wasn't fair. Nothing about any of this was fair.

They gasped when they realized they hadn't taken a breath in a while. Their chest heaved as they got more and more upset about how unfair life was. Panic rose in their chest as they thought of all the ways they had been wronged in just the last year.

Their mother's face flashed before their eyes and their breath caught in their chest. The pain stabbed at their heart like a knife. It felt like they were being killed.

Their father's face came into focus and it was like the knife that had stabbed their heart was pulled back out of the chest, taking their heart with it. It felt like it was being wrenched from their chest. They gasped and heaved for air as the panic tightened itself around their body.

It felt like they were in a small box and the walls were closing in on them. It felt like they were in a massive ocean, miles underwater and the weight of the water was crushing them and their lungs burned for air. They tried to swim, grab, crawl to the top but it was useless. They were going to die.

And yet, there they were, still sitting on their bed, their life not in peril in the slightest. But that's what it feels like when the panic takes control. It makes you believe you're going to die. And Lafayette knew they were safe somewhere deep in their mind, but the panic clouded their judgement.

When this happens the only thing they could really do was sit there and wait for it to be over. Once they realize that they aren't dying, that it's just a panic attack, they can sit there and take deep breathes. They can wait until they stop hyperventilating, until their heart rate slows and the panic starts to lift off their shoulders.

They slowly rise to the top of the water and take a deep breathe of air once they emerge.

They can relax their shoulders and their muscles once the sides of the small box fall away and they have room to move again.

They can open their eyes and see that their still in their dorm room, safe and sound and alive. They can sit there as long as they need to, listening to the sound of their breathing calm down or feeling their heavy heart beat slow back down to normal. 

And once it's completely over, you feel almost normal again.

And now they could move around again. They could stand up and walk on their legs which only shook a little bit as they stepped onto them. They sat down at their desk and stared at all the papers. And it was nice to know that they could dive into studying and not waste another second worrying about anything besides their notes. There was just no use in worrying now. They let the slow process of studying distract them until it was dark outside.

\-----

After Thomas'... realization about Alexander, he had a very hard time falling asleep. He'd been up most of the night deeply pondering about what exactly was wrong with him. How could he have developed feelings for his sworn enemy? Or... at least his ex-sworn enemy.

Because, after that conversation, after all the things he had learned about Alexander and all the things he had told Alexander, could they even call themselves enemies anymore? Thomas definitely didn't think of him as an enemy anymore. No, now he thought of Alexander as someone completely different, which was another thing that kept him up all night.

So now, at 8:00 in the morning on a Saturday, when Thomas heard knocking on his door, he wasn't too happy about it. He was already awake but he didn't feel like dealing with human interaction at the moment. That took too much energy. And who was wanting to talk to him at 8am anyways? Thomas got up and opened the door to find out.

"Hey! Oh... sorry, did I wake you up?" James asked, looking slightly guilty at the end. Thomas blinked. James. His best friend James. He had almost totally forgotten about James! 

"James! No... I was already awake... umm, come in!" Thomas stuttered in confusion. He stepped aside and James walked in, giving Thomas a weird look as he passed. He slammed the door shut behind him and pinched the bridge of his nose. He quickly ran through all the events that happened the previous night and realized he probably still looked like a mess, especially since he barely got any sleep.

"So, where'd you go last night? I looked for you everywhere and texted you about a million times," Thomas asked as he sat next to James on his messy bed. James smiled to himself and- was he blushing? Thomas was suddenly a hundred and ten percent more curious than he was before.

"Yeah... so sorry about that but I figured you wouldn't miss me. You're always good at parties and social stuff. While I'm-"

"While you're usually clinging onto my side. So, why weren't you? Where did you go? I need to know!" Thomas whined impatiently. James laughed and shook his head, blushing even more. Then, to Thomas' utter surprise, James sighed deeply and stared distantly at the ceiling.

"I met this most amazing girl last night," he sighed- actually SWOONED would be the better word. 

Thomas gaped in shock. This was not like James. This was so not like James. He immediately felt the need to know every single little detail. 

"Ok... so you're going to have to tell me everything like right now before I DIE," Thomas replied exasperatedly. James smirked at his friend but proceeded to tell the story.

"Well, it wasn't long after we arrived. You went to get us drinks I think, but you were taking awhile so I went to go find you. Well, on my way I accidentally ran into this girl- like literally ran into her. She fell down and everything. I was really embarrassed and helped her up but she was laughing so hard it made me feel less bad about the whole thing. Anyways, then she said something along the lines of, 'oh look, I've already fallen for you'. It was corny but she was laughing so hard it made me laugh too. 

"After that she kind of kept talking to me. She was so nice and funny and really easy to talk to, like I was barely stuttering at all, you should have seen me. Anyways, we eventually wandered off to somewhere quiet so we could talk more. She told me all about herself, her job, her major, her interests, her family. Everything. It was so great. And I told her all about myself too."

"Uh huh... and did you manage to get this girl's name while you guys were swapping your life stories?" Thomas drawled sarcastically. James shot him a look and then rolled his eyes. "Obviously, I'm not an idiot," he replied. "Well, could'a fooled me," Thomas muttered. James punched him in the arm before continuing.

"Her name's Dolly. Dolly. Can you think of a more perfect name? Dolly- wow," James drifted off into a trance again. Thomas literally snapped his fingers in front of his face to snap him out of it.

"Wow, Dolly sounds great. Almost too good to be true... you sure you didn't hallucinate the whole thing?" Thomas joked, grinning for ear to ear. James punched him in the arm again, and this time Thomas had to rub it lightly from the pain. But that didn't stop his teasing.

"Soooo, you went somewhere quiet to 'talk' huh?" Thomas teased, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. James frowned at his friend.

"Ha ha, Thomas. We didn't have sex. And yes, I am still saving myself for marriage so don't even ask me about it," he replied flatly. Thomas snorted and then tried to compose himself under the glare of his best friend. 

"Well, did you at least get some action? You can do things and still not actually do THE thing."

"Ok, I think this conversation is over. Good bye Thomas," James said as he stood up to leave. Thomas reached out to grab his hand to stop him while trying to stifle his laughter.

"No! I'm just kidding, you don't have to tell me! No, don't leave Jimmy!" he whined as he pulled James back onto the bed. James sighed but in the end decided to stay and continue to ramble on and on about Dolly. Thomas got to hear all about her, but he was only half listening. The other half of him was thinking about Alexander and whether he should tell James about everything that happened last night.

In the end, he decided he wouldn't. James seemed so excited about Dolly and he was rarely this happy or excited and Thomas didn't want to ruin that. So, he sat and listened to the stories about Dolly and Dolly's pretty hair and her green eyes and her family. He happily listened to it all because, even though it was a little dull, it was worth it to see James' face all lit up and happy.

\-----

Alexander never slept in. Never. Well ok, maybe not never, but it was rare. He was usually up late into the night and awake early in the morning so he could maximize his time spent awake and doing something productive, something important. Even if that meant only getting a maximum of five hours of sleep. It didn't matter, he had coffee.

But this morning was different because last night he was up even later than usually, and he hadn't even been doing something important! He just couldn't fall asleep because his thoughts were running wild like a stampede of horses. He couldn't silence them and he ended up being awake until 5am or so just because of that stupid, frigging Thomas.

He couldn't sleep because of Thomas and all the things Thomas had said. It was very troubling and Alexander didn't like the fact that he now had these feelings of sympathy and empathy towards Thomas Jefferson, his enemy! A man he's despised since the beginning. 

But now there was no going back. He knew things no one else knew about Thomas and Thomas knew things no one else knew about him. It was scary to think about just how vulnerable he had made himself last night, but then he felt comforted because he remembered just how vulnerable Thomas had made himself too. Alexander somehow felt better now that he had shared with Thomas, but then this lead to more confused thoughts and conflicted feelings which kept him awake.

So this had caused him to wake up at 11:00am to the sound of pounding on his dorm room door. He groaned and opened his eyes slowly, squinting through the sunlight. He rolled over and checked the time. 11:02am. His eyes widened and he practically flew out of bed.

How had he slept this long? He had an alarm set for seven every morning! And now he had lost half a day of studying! Exams were in two days! What was he going to do?!

He scrambled to search for his clothes and books but was then stopped by another session of pounding on his door. He raised an eyebrow at the door and ran over to open it. Maybe it was Burr? Had he lost the key? It didn't seem like something Burr would do but-

"Finally! I've been texting and calling for hours! I thought we were going to study together- WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?!" John immediately forgot about everything besides Alexander's black and swollen eye. He grabbed the young Caribbean's face in his hands and stared at it in a mixture of horror and surprise.

"Uhhh... I kinda... got in a fight," Alexander mumbled as his cheeks were being squashed by John's hands. The poor boy was thrown into even more shock at those words.

"A FIGHT? When? Who? WHY?!" John yelled in a panic. Alexander felt slight annoyance creep up in him as well as a little happiness at the fact that John was so concerned about him. 

"Alright," he said as he pulled away from John, "Come in already and I'll tell you." Alexander pulled his friend inside his room and closed the door. 

It took him a long time to tell the events of the previous night with John interrupting every twenty seconds, but eventually he did and they were both able to laugh about it.

"So, what? You got out of there and came home? That's why you left alone?" John asked. Alexander felt his insides twist and the heat rush to his face from the guilty feeling of lying. While telling the story, he somehow managed to leave out the fact that Thomas had come down to 'save him' (Alexander would never admit to the truth of that statement). 

"Uh, yeah. Just went home and crashed," he lied as he ignored the tightness in his chest. His mind flashed back to Thomas' room. To being on his bed. To talking with him and sharing things with him he'd never told anyone...

"Please tell me you at least put some ice on that," John said, raising an eyebrow at Alex. 

"Pfft! Of course! I'm not that irresponsible," he replied awkwardly, forcing a smile that he hoped fooled John. Meanwhile, the memory of Thomas' face in such close proximity to his came up, with him holding the ice pack to his eye and-

"I'm glad to hear that, at least. But maybe call for backup next time you wanna get beat up by a fraternity-slash-cult?" John joked, shoving Alexander lightly. He pouted and rolled his eyes. 

"It's not like I wanted to get beat up by them! Wait- I mean- I DIDN'T GET BEAT UP!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got creative with the panic attack because I literally had one this morning before my exam and I needed to vent. Love having anxiety:)


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a storm even though this takes place in December... just bare with me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *runs in 20 minutes late with a half empty Starbucks cup, the rest of the drinking dripping all over my arm, and panting* : I'M HERE!
> 
> Yeah I know I'm kinda late but at least I'm here! 
> 
> Anyways, it's Canada day!!! Happy Canada day to my fellow Canadians, I hope your day was filled with parades and fireworks and lots of delicious food. I added a little Canadian humour and funny stereotypes to the chapter in honour of today;)
> 
> Alright, go read if you're still awake. Or if you're in a different time zone and it's actually earlier for you.

"Huh... looks like there's gonna be a storm tomorrow..." 

John turned up the radio on his laptop so that he and Alex could hear the radio lady give the weather report.

"And looks like torrential downpours starting tonight and carrying well over into tomorrow, should be partly cloudy by tomorrow evening. Well, looks like this abnormally warm spell for December comes with it's consequences. I'm just glad it's not snow!" 

"Tell me about it! I don't know about all of you, but I sure as hell ain't ready to be trudging around in the snow," the male radio person chimed in. 

The lady said something else and they both started laughing but Alexander gave absolutely no fucks about what they were saying. The only thing on his mind was the weather.

High speed winds. Torrential downpours. Storm. Really big storm. Starting tonight. Carrying on until tomorrow.

"-Alex?" John's voice broke through Alexander's thoughts. He looked up and blinked confusedly at his best friend.

"Yeah?" he asked. John seemed concerned and Alex realized that he had been talking to him and he hadn't even realized it.

"I was just asking you if you thought you were ready for your exam tomorrow? Are you ok? You seem... distracted," John trailed off, obviously worrying about Alex, who hated worrying anyone. He pushed away his panicked thoughts and put on a fake smile. 

"Yeah, fine. Just stressed about this exam," he lied. He was eternally grateful for the good excuse because it seemed to satisfy John's inquisitive concern. He smiled softly and rolled his eyes. "Please, you have nothing to worry about, you could probably write the exam right now and ace it," he told Alex.

It was true, and Alex knew it. He wasn't really all that worried about the exam. His intro to political science class had been just as easy as it was interesting and he felt confident in his knowledge. But there were far more severe worries on his mind at the moment, and right then it was just easier to disguise them as stress over exams.

"Well, how about you quiz me on unit five again... just to be sure," Alex suggested, handing his notes to John who sighed deeply. "Fine. But I swear I've quizzed you so many times I have the notes memorized myself," he muttered. 

John began listing off questions to which Alex replied in length to and in complete accuracy. It was nice to focus on his work instead of on the dark skies ahead, and laughing with John was certainly helping as well. Hopefully, he'd be able to make it through tonight and tomorrow with little to no complications. Or, even more hopefully, the storm would blow over and pass them and he won't have to worry at all.

\-----

Thomas laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. He was wide awake even though he should be asleep. But who could sleep when you had a final exam the next day. Thomas swore that every time he absolutely needed to sleep, he couldn't. It was like it was taunting him, laughing at him as he told himself to just get to sleep already. 

Notes and review questions floated around in his head. He kept subconsciously reciting theories and terms and definitions by memory. And every time he realized he was thinking too much to be able to sleep he ended up getting more panicked that he still couldn't fall asleep. It was a viscous cycle.

And the rain pounding on the roof and the wind howling through the windows really wasn't helping either.

\-----

Thomas had managed to fall asleep eventually the night before and also managed to wake up and make it in time for his exam. He had to run to class so that he wouldn't be caught in the downpour for long. He silently cursed the weather for deciding to unleash this massive storm durning their exam period- and during December for crying out loud! This should be a snow storm! Although, that wouldn't be the best either, considering he still had to drive over to Virginia for the winter break and a snow storm would certainly delay that. 

Still, it wasn't fair. And although he knew there was nothing anyone could do about the weather, he still felt the need to be petty and annoyed with it. He told himself he had a right to be, since he was going to have to sit through an exam with cold, wet feet. 

Washington started to hand out the packets of paper for the exam. Thomas glanced down at his when it was placed in front of him, face down. His stomach started to ball with nerves again as he stared at it. He decided it was no good in looking at the blank back side and getting nervous about it, so he glanced around the room at his classmates.

They all seemed just as nervous as him, if not then much more nervous. He watched a girl with thick glasses tap her pencil quickly against the packet of paper. He saw a guy looking so pale he thought he might throw up. 

Thomas' gaze managed to make it all the way across the classroom, when someone caught his eye. Alexander was there now. He hadn't been before. He must have just showed up. He was sitting in his usual spot, right next to the door. He looked wet as well, but so did all the other students. His hair was matted to his head and his shoulders were shaking from the cold. His teeth were also chattering. And he was fidgeting with his hands. Thomas quirked an eyebrow at the odd way Alexander was behaving. Was he really that nervous about the exam?

"Alright! You have exactly three hours to complete the exam, starting... now!" Washington bellowed suddenly, nearly startling Thomas out of his skin. His own nerves took control of him again and he anxiously flipped over his test and started reading. Every single previous thought he had vanished and then the only thing on his mind were the questions.

\-----

After 2 hours and 48 minutes, three hand cramps, and two pencils later (one of his literally snapped in half about half way through) Thomas had finished his final exam. He looked over his answers quickly and jumped every time someone got up to hand theirs in. The room was practically empty by now, Thomas was one of the last ones there. 

He stood up on shaky legs and walked over to Washington's desk, handed him the completed packet, and smiled politely after Washington nodded to him. He walked back to his seat, almost in a haze of relief, and packed up his things. The exam hadn't been easy, but he thought he had done a good job. Still, nothing beat the feeling of relief after writing a big test. 

He grabbed his bag and walked out of the room, glancing at the rest of the students. Thick glasses girl was still there (unlike pale-guy who was long gone by now) and a couple others. And- Hamilton?

Sure enough, Alexander was still there, crouched over his test. Thomas could have sworn he had already finished, how couldn't he have? He was the smartest one in the class! This gave Thomas an uneasy feeling. If Alexander wasn't done yet, does that mean that Thomas did something wrong on the test which made him finish it too early? Did he misread a question? Forget to answer something? Not write enough on the essay portion? 

Whatever thoughts he had, there was nothing he could do about it now. He had already handed his exam in. He breathed and tried to push away any thoughts of doubt as he made his way out of the class. As he past Alexander, he noticed the same things as before. He was acting nervous and fidgety. His leg was bouncing rapidly. He was tapping his pencil crazily. He was gritting his teeth and staring intensely into the page. 

He looked to be on the last page, and it looked like it was filled out completely. Maybe he was just reviewing it? So then why did he look so nervous and anxious? Why was he biting his lip and clenching his fists. He looked so tense and scarred even. It almost made Thomas go up to him and comfort him. But he couldn't do that, he was still writing his test.

As Thomas past Alexander and reached for the door knob, he noticed one last thing. A clap of thunder rang out through the room and Alexander flinched. But it was more than a flinch. For a split second Thomas caught a look of absolute terror in Alexander's eyes. Before he could dwell on it longer, he was opening the door and walking out.

Once in the hallway and free from the stuffy, windowless classroom, Thomas could once again see outside. It was still down-pouring and cracks of thunder lighted the dark sky. Thomas thought with dread what it was going to be like to have to run through this storm to get back to his dorm. Maybe he should just wait here for the storm to clear up and for Alexander to finish his test-

And then it was like a lightning bolt hit Thomas.

The storm. It was the storm. Alexander had told him HIMSELF that a hurricane destroyed his hometown when he was seventeen. A HURRICANE. No wonder Alexander looked so scarred! Of course he was scarred, this was probably bringing back some awful memories for him. 

He wasn't nervous about the test. Hell, he probably had finished the test long ago and didn't want to leave the classroom for sheer fear of facing the storm. Alexander thought he was safe in there and didn't want to leave. A pang of sympathy ran through Thomas. How could he have been so stupid as to not see it sooner? 

Thomas paced the halls as he waited for Alexander to emerge. Like hell he was leaving now that he knew what was really wrong with him. All he could think about was his poor Alexander, scarred out of his mind with no one there to comfort him. It was torture waiting for him to come out. Watching the last three students all leave and the minutes passing slowly.

At last, the three hours were up. Thomas waited anxiously. But in the next five minutes there was still no sign. And neither in the next ten minutes following that. With every passing second Thomas grew more and more worried. What was taking him so long? Why was he still in there, the three hours were over? Was Washington giving him extra time? Was he maybe talking to Washington?

Thomas leaned against the wall next to the door with his arms crossed and a complex look on his face. He stared at the floor, unable to stare at the closed door any longer. That is, until he heard the door click open. 

He snapped his head up to see a very shaken and pale Alexander emerging. He pushed off the wall and opened his mouth. Nothing came out. Alexander looked absolutely exhausted and terrified at the same time. He looked up and saw Thomas, and then nearly jumped out of his skin.

"T- Thomas! What?... what are you still doing here?" he stuttered, not meeting Thomas' eyes and instead looking purposefully at the ground, trying to hide behind all the hair that had escaped from his ponytail.

"I was waiting for... " Thomas wanted to say 'you' but, "... the storm to clear up a bit." he decided against it at the last second. At the mere mention of the storm, Alexander flinched and then winced at his mistake. Thomas felt another pang of sympathy. He longed to hold Alexander and reassure him it would be ok, but how could he do that without giving away his true feelings?

"Oh..." was Alexander's weak reply. He was shaking. Thomas couldn't help himself, he needed to comfort him. 

"Hey, are you ok?" he asked softly as he reached out to touch Alexander's arm. 

Alex jumped away from his touch and narrowed his eyes. "Fine," he spat through gritted teeth. He continued to stare at the ground as he tried to push past Thomas.

"Alexander, you're obviously not-" Thomas started softly, concern evident in his voice.

"Don't call me that! And get out of my way!" Alex snapped as he managed to push past Thomas. He started to stomp away and towards the door when another loud clap of thunder sounded. He froze in his spot as a piercing jolt of fear ran through his body, striking right through his heart. He couldn't move for a moment, he was glued to the spot by fear. His eyes were wide and he was shaking and sweating and he was so scarred...

"Please, Alex- Hamilton," Thomas corrected himself distastefully (he much preferred Alexander). 

He reached out and grabbed Alexander's shoulder from behind. "Let me help you."

Alex jumped again and tore away from Thomas as quickly as humanly possible. He whirled around and glared at him. 

"Don't touch me! Leave me alone!" he yelled, although it was more in fear than in anger. "I don't need your help and I certainly don't need your pity now MIND YOUR OWN GODDAMN BUSINESS!" 

And with that, Alexander marched down the hallway and out the doors, vanishing from view. Thomas stood staring in hurt and confusion. He just wanted to help? 

But above all else, he prayed to god that Alexander would be ok.

\-----

The next day was clear and cold again, freezing the puddles and making the world look like an icy wonderland. Lafayette thought it was especially beautiful, they had never seen anything quite like it. They were admiring the crystallized trees on the campus as they walked back to their dorm after writing their last exam. It was peaceful and for once they were filled with relief and not dread. Well, for those two seconds at least.

"Laf! Hey! Wait up!" called an all-to-familiar voice from behind them. Lafayette felt a cold hand twist their heart as their face soured. They crossed their arms and turned around to see Hercules walking up to them, smiling kindly. Lafayette couldn't believe he had the audacity to smile at them like that. He frowned bitterly and avoiding his gaze, staring off to the right.

"What do you want?" they asked coldly. They had been avoiding Hercules at all costs since what happened a few days earlier, and they had been pretty successful too. That is, until now.

Hercules was taken aback by such a cold welcome from Laf. It had hurt enough to have to remain only friends with them, but now they seemed to hate him too. They were avoiding him, he knew, and now this cold and mean attitude was only more proof. Hercules was beginning to realize just how much he was getting hurt by this. 

He stopped and stared at the ground sadly, letting the sharp pain run through him. He sighed. He hated this. He at least wanted them to be friends after the whole thing, but maybe that just wasn't possible anymore. Lafayette must have realized how sad Hercules looked because they softened a little and spoke in a softer voice.

"How was your exam?" they asked, looking back up at him. It was a mistake, looking at him just reminded them of all they can't have. And his small smile and his kind eyes looking back up at them, it still made their heart skip a beat. 

"Good. How was yours?" he asked, hopeful of starting a conversation. Lafayette shrugged and looked down again. "Fine, I guess," they muttered. Hercules nodded and the conversation died, as did his hopes. The silence was stiff and awkward.

"The trees are really pretty, huh?" he said, grasping at any idea, anything he could possibly say. Lafayette looked up at the trees and smiled and Hercules' heart soared. 

"Yes, I love them. They look like they're made of glass," they said as they stared fondly at the trees. Hercules watched them and god did they ever look beautiful. Far more beautiful than the glass trees.

"You should come see the garden, everything's frozen there too," he suggested. Lafayette's eyes lighted up and they smiled at Herc for the first time in a long time. 

"Really?" they asked excitedly. 

"Yeah, it's amazing. Here, I'll show you," he replied as he turned and started to walk in the direction of the campus garden. 

"We hardly even get snow in Paris, this is so new to me," Lafayette said as they both walked along the path way. 

"Really? I grew up here and we get some snow, usually not as much as the states further north though."

"Ah. Like Michigan?" Lafayette asked with uncertainty.

"Yeah... like Michigan," Hercules chuckled.

“Canada gets a lot of snow,” Lafayette stated before realizing there really wasn't a point to what they said.

"Don't mention Canada around a New Yorker, Laf. You'll just upset us," Hercules joked. They snorted and shrugged.

"I don't understand this hatred towards Canada that you all have. It is a beautiful country! And they speak French as a national language!" Lafayette countered, grinning at Hercules as if to edge him on.

"Yeah but they're a joke! They ride on polar bears and live in igloos and use Monopoly money!" 

Lafayette snorted again and shook their head. "Not a single thing you say is true," they laughed.

"Well how would you know, you've never been to Canada!" Hercules pointed out. "Neither have you!" Lafayette replied. He frowned and scratched his head. "Touché," he admitted. 

Just then, they reached the garden. Lafayette gasped as they took in the sight of all the benches and plants covered in ice. Even the huge black gate was glittering in the sun, making it look like it was made out of glass. It was like something out of a fairytale.

"It's so beautiful," they breathed as they took it in. Hercules smiled and watched them look around in awe. "Yeah. It is."

Lafayette turned at caught him staring at them. They're heart skipped another beat and then immediately plunged down to the ground. They felt the sadness from before creep back inside them and they sighed. Hercules deserved to know the truth, didn't he? Even if it meant being embarrassed for a while. This was the only way to heal things between them both. 

"Hercules," Laf started, taking a deep breath. Hercules gave them his immediate attention. 

"Yeah?"

"I must confess something..." 

Here goes nothing. They sucked in a breath.

"The truth is, I've been avoiding you these last couple of days. I didn't want to see or talk to you because I was upset and angry and hurt." 

Hercules felt their heart sink. Lafayette just confirmed what he already knew, but it hurt nonetheless. Still, he stayed quiet and let them finish.

"I was hurt deeply when you said those things to me, after what happened between us. I thought that maybe... well... I'm not sure what I thought. But I know how I feel and..."

Now he was lost. Lafayette paused to gather their thoughts while Hercules stood there, confused and a little dazed.

"Hercules, that night... it meant something to me. I know you don't think it did but, for me it did. And it really hurt when you say you just want to be friends because... well... I want to be more than that,"   
Lafayette felt their insides twist as all their emotional wounds stung like paper cuts drowned in lemon juice.

Hercules was stunned. He gaped at them, brows knitted together in confusion and disbelief.

"What?" he choked out.

This wasn't real. Lafayette didn't want this. What about all the signs? Leaving early without a good morning? Calling him and apologizing? Lying to John about what happened?

"Look, I know you do not share my feelings. And that's ok. I just thought you should know why I've been acting so mean and petty. You deserve better than that," Lafayette finished, hugging themselves and staring at the ground.

"You- you have feelings for me?" Hercules stuttered, still in complete disbelief. Lafayette continued to stare sadly at the ground and hugged themselves.

"I hope this doesn't change our friendship, because-" 

"Wait. What do you mean you have feelings for me? Romantic feelings?" Hercules persisted. Lafayette shifted and glanced at him. "Well, yes. But-"

"So, you're saying that this WHOLE time, you've had feelings for me? That that night meant something to you? That you want to be more than friends? That you want to date me?" Hercules felt his heart beat faster with every question he asked. Was this true? This whole time?

Lafayette stared at him in surprise. "Umm? Yes," they replied, unsure why he was asking all these questions and insisting on prolonging their embarrassment.

"But- but you left so quickly! And you lied to John and-" 

"What? I only left early because I didn't want your brother to find me. I wasn't sure if he would want to see me there after I obviously spent the night with his little brother. And I only lied to John because I wasn't sure what that night had meant to you! I thought you were going to regret it and want to keep it a secret- which you told me!" Lafayette explained defensively. 

Hercules stared as realization dawned on him. And then he realized that he had said all those things about forgetting that night ever happened when they had feelings for him. That must have hurt them to hear a lot more than it hurt him to say, and it hurt him a lot to say those things, to give up Lafayette.

"I- I didn't know..." Hercules trailed off as he stared at the ground. He felt so guilty. Why was it always him who was hurting Lafayette.

"Yeah, well now you do," they replied bitterly as they crossed their arms. They felt sour and bitter now, and angry that Hercules had jumped to conclusions. Hercules looked up and met their eyes and Lafayette was shocked to see the amount of sadness and regret in them. 

"Laf, I'm so sorry. I am so so sorry. I didn't know you felt the same way... if I'd known-"

Lafayette's eyebrows shot up.

"Felt the same way?" they asked bewilderedly. Hercules winced at his slip up but then wondered why since it was his goal now to tell Laf how he felt. But for some reason he couldn't form the right words, so he just nodded and smiled affectionately at Lafayette. 

They stared at him, gaped at him with such a baffled and confused expression. Like they couldn't believe it. Like they had just been told that pigs were flying in the sky. Like they had just seen hell freeze over. And then the confusion slowly started to dissolve, and Hercules stomach turned when he saw it replace with anger.

"Are. You. Freaking. Kidding me?!" Lafayette pronounced every syllable in a sharp staccato to get their point across. They threw their arms up and started speaking with their hands, just to show how frustrated they were. 

"You mean to tell me that you have FEELINGS for me? After you said all that SHIT about just wanting to be friends?! Merde Hercules, t'es la personne la plus confusante dans la monde!" They started to ramble angrily in French.

Hercules took a step forward, bearing a guilty expression and a desperate need to explain himself. "I know, and I'm sorry for that, but I didn't know how you felt-"

"Je m'en fiche! Tu m'as menti et tu m'as blessé et maintenant tu dis que tu as ces émotions pour moi?! Dites-moi comment cela est juste, Hercules?!?" they snapped, their accent growing thicker from the annoyed state they were in. In wasn't exactly anger but it was definitely frustration.

"Ok, I have no idea what you're saying but judging by your tone, you're angry," Hercules said slowly, slightly scarred his words would anger Laf even more. But surely they had to know he couldn't understand a word of that. 

Suddenly, Lafayette's face fell and they stepped back. They took a deep breath and sighed, staring at the ground. "No, I'm not angry," they muttered. They looked up again and met his eyes, their expression softening. "I'm just confused. Why did you not just tell me?"

"I thought you had regretted it, I thought you wanted to forget about it," Hercules explained, stepping closer. Lafayette stepped closer too and looked deep into his eyes, looked for any sign that he might still be lying. They found none.

"Well I don't. It meant more to me than you know," they said softly. Hercules brought up his hand and very gently caressed the side of Laf's face. They leaned into his touch and let his eyes flutter shut.

"I really do like you, Laf. Like a lot," he said, breaking the sudden but pleasant silence that had fallen upon them. Lafayette looked up and smiled a real, genuine smile for the first time in a very long time. They reached up and cupped their hand over the one Hercules had holding the side of their face.

"As do I."

"Then maybe we should stop being stupid and be together already?" Hercules chuckled, trying to curb his own insecurity and awkwardness by making the self-deprecating joke. Lafayette beamed, their eyes soft and happy and crinkling in the corners from their huge grin. 

"Yes. Yes, I'd love that."

They both stood there, smiling at each other uselessly. Neither of them knew what to say next, but they both also didn't want to say anything and instead just revel in the moment, they moment they had both been unconsciously waiting for. Neither of them had even realized they'd been holding their breath this whole week until they could both finally breathe right then.

Lafayette wasn't sure who leaned in first but they both seemed to be pulled together by something. Hercules bent down in the slightest to catch Lafayette's lips with his and they respectfully reached up and pressed into the kiss. Lafayette's arms slid around his waist and Hercules brought up his other hand to hold the back of their neck. 

And it was serene, kissing Lafayette in the frozen, ice garden with the sun reflecting off of the glass like surroundings. But the best part was just the feeling of having Lafayette so close to him, pressing their lips onto his and pulling him in even closer. He could feel the smile on their lips as they kissed and it made him so happy to know that he was the reason they were smiling. He was so happy.

They both pulled away and rested their foreheads together while breathing heavily, staying as close as possible. Lafayette's lips brushed against Hercules' cheek and then they pulled him in and embraced him, hugging so tightly they heard him grunt softly in surprise before returning the hug. 

Lafayette buried their face in Hercules' broad shoulder and just breathed him in, reminding themselves that this moment was real. That this was actually happening. That they weren't alone for once, that they had someone to hold now. 

They pulled away and smiled so gratefully at Hercules. He smiled too, cherishing the way Lafayette looked in that moment and making sure to never forget this moment.

"Come on, let's go somewhere warm."

And they walked away, hand in hand.


	19. Chapter This isn't a chapter

Hey everyone, guess who's still alive?!

I know it's been a hot minute since I've updated and I guess this isn't really an update cause there's no chapter, but I just felt like I should actually explain my absence. 

First off, being a counsellor at an overnight camp  
is fucking exhausting and very time consuming, I've had virtually no time to write. 

Secondly, even when I did have time to write I didn't want to because I've kinda gotten bored of this fic. I don't really like it all that much anymore and I've lost the motivation to work on it. I've actually been working on a second fic, also in the Hamilton fandom, and I really like it a lot more than this one.

However, this is something I started and I feel like it wouldn't be fair to my readers if I just didn't finish it. So, if you want me to keep writing this one then I happily will! But you gotta say so because otherwise I just won't have the motivation to. Like seriously, every time someone leaves a kudos or comments it makes me so happy and it really encourages me to keep writing!

So anyways, that's is from me for now! I am definitely going to start posting my new fic too, but not until September because I'm still too busy with camp. 

Ok, bye for now!:)


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IM OFFICIALLY BACK BITCHESSSS.
> 
> Sorry about the delay, but my summer was busy, as I've said before, and I just got the time now to write this. 
> 
> So, enjoy this sweet fluff because I've missed these characters and this story so much.

The winter holidays were exactly what Thomas had expected them to be; cold, boring, uncomfortable, and very very anxiety ridden. It was hard enough with the family dinners and all the screaming nieces and nephews and the taunting older sisters and the aunts who kept asking, "So Thomas, when are you going to get yourself a girlfriend?" for which Thomas literally wanted to strangle them. 

But then there was also his father, who really, any time he saw him sent shivers of fear up his spine. He had spent most of his time at home in Virginia avoiding his father. 

The rest of the time though, he had spent with James. He was the real reason Thomas had actually managed to survive the Christmas holidays. And whether it was texting him while the children were crying and the mothers were going crazy trying to quiet them, or sneaking out of the house with him to go for coffee, James always made him feel better. 

But the one thing Thomas had counted on during the holidays, as ridiculous as it may seem, he had counted on them to be crazy. He'd needed them to be hectic and filled with crazy relatives and screaming children and scary fathers. He'd wanted to be swept away by the frantic hype of Christmas because he needed it to distract himself. There were certain things... and certain someone's, Thomas needed to forget about during these two weeks. 

But even with all that insanity and chaos, and as much as he had tried, Thomas couldn't forget. And now, he was driving back to school with James and he was STILL thinking about Alexander stupid head Hamilton. 

"Sooo," James trilled cheerily as he drove along the freeway. He glanced over at Thomas and grinned stupidly. Thomas raised an eyebrow at his friend's odd behaviour.

"What's up, Jemmy?" he asked, his voice a little teasing while using his nickname (which he knew James didn't like). 

"Well... Dolly and I are official," he said, grinning even more. "We're dating!"

Thomas did his best to act surprised.

"What?! Really?! When did this happen?!" he asked with probably too much enthusiasm. 

James rolled his eyes and said, "Alright, enough with the sarcasm. It happened last night. We were talking on the phone and-"

"Wow! Did you stay up all night on the phone with this girl?! You must reeeeally like her!" Thomas interrupted to taunt. James whacked him with his right arm and then placed it back on the steering wheel in the "two o'clock" position. 

"Ha ha. And as a matter of fact, I DO really like her. She's amazing! She's so strong and passionate and self assured. She's not at all afraid to go after what she wants and she's so fucking beautiful and-"

"Alright Romeo, I get it," Thomas deadpanned, rolling his eyes a little at his lovesick friend. 

"Sorry, I just think she's the best," he said, making googoo eyes at the road in front of him. This time Thomas was the one to smack him in the side. 

"So, that's my straight romantic life. How's the gay agenda? Meet any cute boys at college yet?" James teased, earning a second smack. 

"Actually no. There's no one. No cute boys. Well, I mean sure, there are cute boys. Plenty of cute boys actually. But none for me. Well I mean, none that I'm interested in- of course. Because, there's no ONE for me, you know? Like, there's no guy out there who was specifically made for me and only me and that's his only purpose in life, is to date me. I mean, what kind of a world-"

"Thomas!" James called, snapping him out of it. His best friend turned to grin at him knowingly. "You know, I think there JUST might be a boy," he said sarcastically. Thomas crossed his arms and huffed indignantly. 

"No, there isn't."

"Hmm, really?"

"Yes!"

"Thomas has a cruuush!"

"Shut up!" 

He smacked his friend a third time and STILL James refused to stop taunting him.

"Do you want to kiss this boy?" he sang.

Thomas answered before he could think about what he was saying.

"Well actually I already have so," he stuck out his tongue, oh so gracefully.

James' face brightened and his eyebrows shot up to his hair line while Thomas just inwardly groaned and mentally slapped himself for revealing that information.

"Ohhh. So it's someone you've already kissed," he teased. "I wonder who..."

"You can guess all you want but I'm not gonna-"

"Is it Laf?" James gasped, already ignoring Thomas.

"No. Gil and I are just friends," he said while staring out the window grumpily. 

"Hmm. What about that guy from English? Adam... Adam.... Wright?" James said, searching for the name. Thomas scrunched up his nose in distaste and snorted ineloquently. 

"Ok ok, not Adam what's-his-face," James retreated. He went back to thinking and Thomas went back to sulking.

"Hmm.... someone you've already kissed..."

"Yup."

"And he goes to our school...."

"I never said that."

James waved him off while he thought about it. Thomas was almost amused with the look on his face, one of pure concentration. He was really taking this seriously. 

Suddenly James gasped. A light went off behind his eyes and he grinned mischievously at Thomas.

"Didn't you kiss Hamilton at that Halloween party?" he asked. Thomas' stomach dropped to the floor.

"Technically, he kissed me. And it was NOT consensual!"

"Oh my god..."

"What?" Thomas snapped.

"You're blushing."

"I'm not!" Thomas defended himself, his voice going all high pitched and squeaky as he tried his best to hide his face. 

"Yes you are! You're blushing!" 

"Stop it!" Thomas whined. "Are you really suggesting that I have a crush on Hamilton?"

"Well, do you?" James asked, all too knowingly. 

"No! No I don't! How could I? The guy is so obnoxious and infuriating and insufferable! I can't even stand to be in the same room as him! He always has to be right and he always has to get his way- it's maddening! And what is up with the way he dresses? He just throws on the most boring clothes ever and somehow manages to look good? It's like he doesn't try at all and he's still so handsome! That's just not fair! And it's like that with everything he does! Does he study for the test? No! Yet somehow he still gets the highest mark in the class. And does he try to look cute while sitting in class and nodding along with what the professor says? No, and yet he's still the most adorable boy I've ever se-"

Thomas catches the smug look on James' face and stops in his tracks. His words slowly repeat themselves in his head and he cringes at each and every one of them.

"Ok, so I didn't do a good job of hiding that one," he admitted as he rubbed his temples and slapped himself repeatedly in his head.

"Nope. You didn't. You're head over heels for Hamilton," James stated, very matter-of-factly. Thomas just frowned unhappily.

"Fine. You caught me!" he said while rolling his eyes. Then he sighed dramatically and let all the frustration about his stupid feelings out. He turned to his friend, who was actually there to support him instead of tease him, despite what he might say. 

"Am I totally pathetic?" he asked, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. James just rolled his eyes in that affectionate kind of way.

"No, you're not pathetic," he said softly. "And this whole thing actually kind of makes sense."

"What does?" Thomas asked, not following along.

"You and Hamilton. You know, at first you guys hated each other because you were polar opposites, but you're actually more alike than you probably realize," James explained. Thomas just wrinkled his eyebrows and scrunched up his nose at that. 

"It's true! You're both very passionate about the same things, you both have the same major, you're both completely insufferable idiots who always have to be right about everything. I'm telling you, it fits like a glove," he said. 

Thomas reflected on his words for a minute and was surprised to find that some of it made sense. He and Alexander were kind of alike, of anything they at least shared the same interests. And they could always find something to argue about and fall into that rhythm that he'd become so familiar with. 

"Yeah... yeah maybe," Thomas trailed off, in thought. He suddenly let out a groan of frustration and ran his fingers through his hair. "It's- it's just.... ugh!" he tried and failed to find the right words to express the way he was feeling.

"Just what, Thomas?" James prompted.

"It's more than just a stupid crush, you know?" he blurted out before he lost the nerve. "Like, if it was just a crush I wouldn't have to care this much. I wouldn't feel this shitty and I wouldn't be thinking about him all the time." 

James nodded along in understanding. 

"Do you like him?" he asked after a couple minutes. 

Thomas sighed and rubbed his temples again. 

"Yeah."

A beat and then- 

"Do you love him?" James asked softly. 

Thomas hesitated. He wasn't sure. He let his mouth open a close silently for a minute before answering.

".... maybe. I don't know."

"Ok."

They sat in silence for the next few minutes, nothing but the low sound of the radio playing in the background. 

"Hey, I'm glad you told me," James said after a while with a smile. 

"I'm not." Thomas huffed, half jokingly, half serious. James just laughed at him, and the sound of his best friend's laughter made Thomas smile, and then start to laugh along with him. And then they were back to their usual laughing and talking, just like that. 

\-----

Hercules walked quickly across the campus to the dorm building. The morning was cold and the air was brisk and he wanted to get inside. But more than anything, he wanted to see Laf. 

It had only been a few days that he was gone at his parents house for Christmas, but he still missed Lafayette so much it hurt. He thought it was crazy- correction, he knew it was crazy, but he didn't care. All he cared about was getting to Laf's dorm. 

He entered the building and turned to the stairwell, taking the steps two by two. He sped walked down the hall and to their dorm room. He got there, heart pounding in his ears, and knocked quickly.

The door opened, and Herc's face immediately fell, as well as his hopes of getting laid.

"Oh! Hey John..." he said, trying to act just surprised instead of disappointed. His friend saw right through him but, to his relief, only quirked an eyebrow and smiled.

"Don't look so disappointed to see me," John teased as he opened the door wider for Hercules to come in. He went back inside and walked over to his bed where his suitcase was open and now half empty. 

Hercules walked in and said, "I'm not disappointed, just surprised! Weren't you supposed to come back tomor-" he stopped in his tracks as he laid eyes on Lafayette, who was perched on their own bed, looking up at him with a smile from reading their book. "-row." he finished, a little out of breath at the mere sight of Lafayette. 

"Hi," they said, an amused smile on their lips as Hercules stared at them. But really, who could blame him? Did Laf realize just how perfect they looked? And while doing something as simple as reading a book in bed? It shouldn't even be possible to look that good while reading a book in bed. They were wearing a light pink hoodie which was too big for them and it made them look so small and cozy and- well- wow. 

"-early," Hercules just managed to catch the last word of John's sentence as he snapped out of his daze. He blinked and turned back to his friend. 

"What?" he asked, confused.

"I said that I came home a day early because there's supposed to be a snow storm tomorrow," John repeated exasperatedly, but not annoyed yet. He seemed to be in a good mood, which Herc was grateful for because he was being kind of an awful friend right then. But then again, how exactly was he supposed to concentrate on small talk when Lafayette was sitting there looking at him with that smug look on their beautiful face?

"Oh! Snow storm?! Really?!" Lafayette said excitedly, their eyes lighting up like a child's would after being told they were going to Disney world. They smiled and put the book down, sitting on the edge of their bed. 

"Yeah! And then it's gonna rain sugar cubes and gumdrops!" John said sarcastically. Lafayette rolled their eyes and stood up, crossing their arms. 

"You know what? Now I don't help you with unpacking," they replied, sticking out their tongue like a petulant child. Hercules laughed at them, staring affectionately. Happiness bubbled in his chest just while observing this cute, quirky person in front of them. 

"Well that's just fine. I have to grab something out of the car anyways," John said, sticking out his tongue as well as he crossed the room to the door. Hercules stepped to the side and let him out. "Don't miss me too much while I'm gone!" he called out as the door closed behind him.

Hercules heard Lafayette giggle and he turned around so fast he nearly got whiplash. He smiled at his significant other, admiring how they had pulled down the sleeves of their sweater so that they were completely covering their hands. They. Were. So. Fucking. Cute.

"Hey," he said as a smile spread across his face. Lafayette brought up their arms and wrapped them around their torso. 

"Hi," they said cautiously, a shy smile on their lips. Their shoulders crept up a little as an awkward tension built between them. 

Hercules glanced back at the closed door and then back to Laf, pointing at it.

"How long do you think he'll be?" he asked. Lafayette shrugged.

"A few minutes?"

"That's good enough."

Hercules took three quick steps to close the distance between the two of them and swept Lafayette into his arms. He grabbed their waist with one hand and the back of their neck with the other and pulled them in, connecting their lips. Lafayette instantly reciprocated, curling their arms around his waist. 

Hercules filled the kiss with as much passion and love as he felt in that moment, his lips firm yet sweet. Lafayette pressed into them and opened their mouth, allowing him access in. He slid his tongue in and started to massage theirs with it. Lafayette's lips moved quickly and fervently, feeling so good against his own. And their lips were soft and they were wet and the pressure felt so good and their mouth tasted so good and

"Mmnn~," Lafayette moaned suddenly, moving their hands down slowly. Hercules felt shivers go up his spine as Lafayette slid their hands down his shoulders, onto his chest, pressing them against him. Then they moved lower, flicking their thumb over his nipple and rubbing small circles around it. Hercules felt sparks shoot through him at the simple touch, the familiar heat of arousal gathering between his legs. 

Lafayette's hands wandered farther down, their fingers leaving a trail of heat on Hercules' skin. They got to his lower abdomen and he felt them slip their hands under the fabric of his shirt. They lightly traced their fingers on the soft skin below his belly button, feeling the muscles of his stomach jump at their touch. Hercules groaned into Lafayette's mouth, kissing them harder as the heat spread between his legs. God, all Lafayette was doing was lightly touching him and he was getting hard. 

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Hercules thought he heard the sound of a lock clicking, but he was too overwhelmed with the sensation of Laf's tongue to really care. But then he felt them pull away and that's when he heard the voice.

"Sorry, I forgot my keys-"

Hercules panicked at the sound of John's voice and split from Laf, pushing them away from him. Lafayette yelped in surprise and stumbled backwards, tripping over their own feet and falling to the ground with a thud. They both looked over at the door in horror to see John staring at them with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. 

His eyes flicked back and forth between Herc and Laf in disbelief. 

"You?" he gasped, pointing at Hercules. 

"And you?!" he said, pointing at Lafayette. 

Hercules took a step forward, hands raised in defence in case John started freaking out. Lafayette just stayed on the floor, completely stunned.

"John... just calm down," Hercules said slowly, watching as John kept looking between the two of them in shock. He turned to Hercules, his eyes blown wide.

"What- when- how?!" he tried, the proper words not forming in his head. 

Lafayette finally shook themselves out of it and stood up. They took a few steps forward too.

"It happened a couple weeks ago. We didn't want anyone else to find out yet," they explained softly. The shock was starting to dissolve on John'a face but it was being replaced with anger.

"So you two have just been- what, fooling around behind everyone's back?!" he sputtered angrily, glaring at the both of them. Hercules rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, trying to push the guilty feeling back down. 

"Well..." he tried but failed to explain himself. Luckily, Lafayette was better with words, despite English being their second language.

"Yes, we have. But it's more than 'fooling around'," they explained as they took Hercules' hand in theirs. They stared fondly at Herc and smiled. "I really care about him," they said. Hercules felt their heart glow as he stared into Laf's hazel eyes.

"So... what? You guys are a- a couple now?" John asked softly, choking on his own words. Hercules turned to him and squeezed Laf's hand lightly.

"Yeah, we are." he confirmed, his heart doing a little flutter in his chest. He still couldn't believe that this was real, that Laf was his. He couldn't believe he was this lucky.

John took a step backwards, shaking his head. He looked confused and upset, but not angry anymore. 

"I... umm," he trailed off, staring at the ground as he walked backwards. Hercules and Lafayette looked at him with concern as he ran his back into the door and searched for the knob with his hand. 

"I- I have to go..." he stuttered, shaking his head and turning the knob. Hercules' face fell as his friend opened the door behind him. John turned to walk through the door, but was stopped by Laf.

"John, wait," they called out, trying to get him to stop and listen. John paused for a second, before turning his head back to them, staring at the ground.

"No. I have to go." he said quickly, avoiding eye contact. Hercules didn't know what to do. He knew his friend was upset but for what reason? Did he feel lied to? Betrayed? Left out maybe? But none of those seemed very accurate.

John's eyes flicked up to look at the both of them for a second. His expression hardened as he saw them together. 

"But congratulations," he said flatly. Then, he slammed the door shut. 

Lafayette flinched at the loud sound. Hercules just stared at the closed door in disbelief. He played over John's harsh tone of voice in his head, feeling like he'd been stabbed in the chest each times he reheard it. Why couldn't John just be happy for him? What was wrong with him?

Lafayette sighed and muttered, "Well that could have gone a lot better." 

Hercules turned to them and pulled them into his arms, wrapping them in a hug. Lafayette exhaled in surrender and let themselves sink into his arms, resting their head on his chest. And it felt so good to just have someone to sink into, they thought. 

"It's gonna be ok. He just needs to cool off for a bit. He'll be fine," Hercules said reassuringly while running his hand up and down their back. 

"I hope so," Lafayette muttered, feeling absolutely awful about lying to John all this time. But they hadn't exactly expected him to act like that either. They thought he'd be at least a little happy for the both of them. After all, they did really care about Hercules. They cared so much.

"And we'll still have each other," Hercules said, resting his head on top of Laf's. "I'm not going anywhere."

Lafayette's breath caught in their throat. They looked up at Hercules, who was smiling down at them with the most loving look. And they just couldn't believe he had said that, 'I'm not going anywhere.' because everyone always leaves. Everyone leaves them and then they're all alone until they manage to find someone else but then that someone else ends up leaving too. And it's not like they have someone at home they can go back to. There's no one waiting for them in their old house in France. 

They had been alone for so long. They hadn't realized it but they had been completely alone. Even when they had first met their friends here in New York, they had still felt alone. But now, they had someone. They actually had someone they could trust.

Lafayette was suddenly overcome with emotions that they couldn't quite place. They didn't know what to do or what to say. They just stared up wide-eyed at Hercules, unable to speak. They could hear how loud their heart was beating in their chest. 

It was beating too fast, actually. Lafayette started to feel a familiar panic arise in their chest. Their head buzzed lowly and their heart beat rapidly. They didn't know why they felt so anxious but they sure as hell didn't want to feel like this right then. They buried their face in Herc's shoulder and hugged him tightly, feeling comforted in his presence. The pressure they felt as they were pressed against him and wrapped tightly in his arms was grounding and it started to drown out the buzzing in their head. 

And just as soon as it had come, their anxiety was gone. They exhaled shakily and continued to stand there, holding onto Hercules. 

And then they heard the words being said in their head.

I love him.

They loved him.

But they couldn't tell him yet. Not just yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not proofread this. So sorry for the probably many spelling errors.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas Jefferson is a piece of work but Alexander Hamilton is a piece of shit.
> 
> They'd make a lovely couple, wouldn't they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I know this is very late, but hopefully it was worth the wait! I just haven't had very much time to write these past couple weeks and I wanted to make sure this chapter turned out well so I took my time with it. It's one of my favourites so far:)
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!
> 
> !!warning!! Sexual content is in this chapter.
> 
>  
> 
> And no I'm not sorry.

The debate.

Their first debate, the one after the Christmas holidays.

Thomas had almost forgotten about it.

/Almost./

Unfortunately, it was a pretty hard thing to forget about when Alexander Hamilton had long ago created a group chat for the debate team and then proceeded to text them all at four in the morning the day before to remind them.

Oh how Thomas loved being on that debate team.

Especially now, as he was sitting in a bus with the rest of the team, at exactly 6:42 in the morning, with approximately zero sleep from the night before. 

"Ughhh," Thomas groaned into the pillow he had propped up against the window. At least it was a coach bus and not some rickety, yellow school bus. And it was nice that there were only about fifteen of them total so there was more than enough space. 

Still, Thomas thought long and hard about why he had even joined the team in the first place. Of course, that question just led to the same answer that most of his questions did these days.

"Ok! Good morning everyone!"

Alexander Hamilton.

He was standing at the front of the bus, smiling way too wide for 6:48 in the morning. He was wearing a brown coat with a red scarf tied around his neck. His nose and cheeks were rosy from the cold January air. His hair was tied back in a very messy ponytail, but somehow he still made it work. He looked cute.

Thomas stuffed his face against his pillow once more. 

"I know it's early but we have to stay on schedule if we're going to win this thing, right?" he continued, probably trying to pump the team up. He wasn't doing the best job. 

"Ok, so we should arrive at the hotel at around 10:00. You'll have an hour to check in and get settled, then we're going to meet in conference room B at 11:00 to start practising. I hope everyone's ready to argue!"

Alexander's excitement was met with silence and more blank, exhausted stares. Thomas would have had a hard time watching it, honestly, if he wasn't so tired and pissed at the little caffeine addicted gremlin for getting him into this situation.

"Right..." Alexander trailed off awkwardly, glancing around at the people on the bus. He moved to sit down in one of the front seats. He glanced to where Thomas was and, for a split second, they made eye contact. All Thomas could see was that, for the amount of energy Alexander was trying to sell, he looked absolutely exhausted. But then he broke the eye contact and slouched down into his seat. 

Thomas sighed and turned his head back to the window. He watched as they pulled out of the school's parking lot. Watched as they accelerated onto the highway. Watched as they passed by buildings, and then farms. He just watched all the scenery pass by with a blur and tried not to think about the awful day he was about to endure. 

\-----

Thomas must have drifted off at some point because the next thing he knew someone was violently shaking him by the shoulder. He shot up, adrenaline immediately rushing through his body and pushing any remaining sleepiness out of him. He turned around frantically, confused as to what was going on. 

"What? What's going on?" he asked bewilderedly, his heart hammering in his ears. He spun around to see who had been shaking him, and internally groaned when he recognized Hamilton's shit eating grin.

"Rise and shine sleeping beauty! We're here," he sang, obviously ecstatic that he was the one who got to wake him up. Thomas scowled and sat up, rubbing his sore neck. He should have known better than to fall asleep on the bus. 

"Go to hell, Hamilton," he grumbled unhappily. Surprisingly, Alexander didn't reply to his insult. Thomas turned to stare at him questioningly, although he was pretty sure it was more of an annoyed glare than an inquisitive gaze.

Alexander crossed his arms over his chest and just smiled brightly at Thomas.

"What?" Thomas snapped.

"Nothing," Alexander hummed innocently, but Thomas caught the evil glint in his eyes. "Just admiring your bed head."

Thomas glared at him and tried not to act like bedhead was the worst thing that could happen to him, because he knew that was the reaction Alexander was searching for. Still, he couldn't help but run a cautious hand through his messy curls. 

"Oh. And did you know you drool when you sleep?" Hamilton added, obviously trying to get on Thomas' nerves but trying to act innocent. Thomas felt his face heat up as he self consciously wiped at the corners of his mouth. Shit. He had been drooling. 

Alexander stifled a laugh. Thomas glared at him.

"Could you be a doll and fuck off for me?" Thomas drawled, finally standing up and grabbing his pillow and his bag. He slung the duffle bag over his shoulder and made to walk out of his seat. But of course, Hamilton was blocking the way. 

"Wow you really aren't a morning person, are you?" Hamilton asked, laughing to himself as he watched Thomas awkwardly step out of his seat. 

"You'd think you'd've realized that after all the early morning practices," Thomas muttered angrily as he managed to shove past Alexander.

"Huh. And here I was thinking you just hated me all this time," Hamilton replied, his voice oozing with fake charisma and false sincerity as he pouted and batted his eyelashes mockingly.

"Oh don't worry. I do," Thomas said with a fake smile. He started walking to the end of the bus, eager to get off.

"Awh! Love you too, babe!" Alexander called after him. Thomas ignored it as best as he could. And yes, if asked about it he would deny the blush on his face for the rest of his life.

\-----

After an hour of checking in and trudging up and down the stairs, because, of course, the elevator in the hotel was broken, Thomas walked down the hall and towards conference room B. 

His head was pounding. Apparently falling asleep on a bus with your contact lenses in can give you a headache, who knew? He had taken out his lenses and opted for the pair of glasses he almost never wore instead. Now at least he'd be able to see without his head screaming at him, even if it was through the thick lenses and the ugly black frames. 

Thomas had always hated how he looked with glasses, but he could care less about his appearance right now. Exhibit A would be the current state of his hair. He had tried to fix it for a minute in his room, but he couldn't manage to tame it. He shrugged it off, it wasn't like he was trying to impress anyone here anyways.

At last, he made it to the conference room and pushed open the door begrudgingly.

"You're late, Jefferson." Hamilton scolded immediately upon him entering the room. He wasn't even looked at him, but instead down at the stack of papers in his hand. Thomas briefly wondered how he knew it was him, before realizing he was the last one there. He rolled his eyes as he took a seat at the large table where everyone had already gathered. 

"Well, wouldn't want to ruin my tradition of being late to every meeting now would I?" he drawled sarcastically as he leaned back in the softly padded swivel chair. Hamilton scowled and looked up from his papers to glare at Thomas, but instead, his face turned from pissed to shocked in a matter of seconds. He blinked at Thomas, his mouth slightly parted. Thomas raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"What?" he snapped.

Alexander opened his mouth to reply, but then closed it again. He blinked a few more times before shaking his head and seeming to snap him out of his trance. 

"Nothing. Just never seen you with glasses before," he answered weakly. Thomas felt something inside him stir at that response. Hamilton looked... well he looked flustered. Why was that?

"Yeah, I don't normally wear them," he said, his voice lacking any edge or the usual sarcasm, causing it to seem empty, almost soft. Hamilton just nodded as he looked back down at his papers. He cleared his throat and carried on with the meeting as if the little interaction had never happened.

"Ok, now the debates at one, so we have a couple hours to review and practice before it starts. We're going up against Colombia, to which some people might say we have no chance against, but I want to prove those people wrong! And I think we can prove them wrong if we work hard and he stay focused!"

Thomas looked around the table idly. Hamilton's speech seemed to motivate the team a little more than it did earlier that morning. Then again, mostly everyone was asleep earlier that morning. Still, it was nice to see his hard work and his encouraging speeches pay off, even if Thomas would never admit it.

Alexander talked for about an eternity before they started practicing. 

\-----

Thomas felt unease settle in his stomach as he looked out at the audience from his spot at the table set up on the stage. There were a lot of people, a lot more people than Thomas thought there would be at a university debate. His stomach swirled with nerves.

He wasn't good with crowds. He wasn't good with public speaking at all actually. But he had thought it would be just their team and the other team and the judges.

But this was totally unexpected.

He took a deep, shaky breath, and tried to ignore all the faces staring back at him. 

He could do this.

Right?

No. There was no use in doubting himself now. He. Could. Do. This.

The debate started.

Thomas listened as the first student from Colombia answered the question. But wait, what had been the question again? He listened to the student to see if he could guess the question from her answer, but then she stopped talking and the first person on their team got into their rebuttal. 

Thomas' head was swimming. He felt his pulse start to race. The more he panicked about listening to the debate and understanding what they were talking about, the more he couldn't seem to follow. He couldn't focus, everyone's voices mixed together and it sounded like he was miles away. 

Why was this happening?

He looked out at the crowd and felt a sick feeling wash over him. This really wasn't good. 

"-Thank you, Colombia. NYU, you're response?"

Thomas heard a judge say this but didn't completely register. 

Then he heard Alexander's voice. 

"Thomas!" he hissed under his breath.

Thomas' heart jumped up into his throat. It was his turn.

He looked up at the panel of judges awaiting his response. He glanced at the crowd of judgmental faces. 

He opened his mouth.

He could do this.

Not a sound came out. 

/Come on, Jefferson! Pull it together!/

"Umm..."

/Right. Because that's much better, Thomas!/

He felt his face grow hot in embarrassment. He had no idea what to say. He had barely any idea what was even going on. What had they been talking about? What was this debate about? Something to do with climate change?

What had his opponent said? What was his argument? How was he supposed to debate if he could barely breath? 

He stared down at the table, his fists clenched and his nails biting into the skin of his palms underneath it. He swallowed thickly, but his mouth was dry. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.

The room swayed. Thomas felt like he was going to be sick. He still couldn't seem to breath properly either. It was like his mind had detached itself from his body, said "fuck you Thomas!", and ran off. 

What was he going to do?

"What my teammate means to say is-"

Thomas thought he heard a voice say, but everything felt so far away. He felt dissociated from the rest of the world. His vision started to darken around the edges. 

"Thank you Hamilton, but your teammate must answer for himself."

Thomas looked up. He had heard that for sure. He looked to the judges who were writing things down and looking at him like he was insane. 

He couldn't stand it anymore. 

Before he knew it, he was running off stage.

It was like he was living in a dream. He could make sense of what was going on, but just barely. His heart pounded as he pushed open a set of doors and ran through the hotel's hallway. He had no idea where he was or where he was going.

Somehow he found a door that lead outside. 

He pushed it open.

Immediately, he felt the cold, cruel air whip him in the face.

He didn't care.

He found himself collapsing against a garden wall covered in ivy and sliding down until he was seated on the concrete ground. His heart jackhammered against his rib cage, threatening to break it. Or at least, that's how it felt. 

Thomas sucked in a shaky breath and ran his hands through his hair. He closed his eyes and willed himself to calm down.

/Ok. Ok, calm down. It's ok. You're fine now. It's over now. You made sure of that when you ran out of the room./

"Shit."

Thomas' breathing and heart rate had calmed down, but now that the panic had dissipated, the realization of what he had just done sank in. His eyes widened and his hands involuntarily tightened their grip in his hair.

"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. SHIT!"

He gasped for a breath again as the panic and anxiety swirled dangerously in his stomach. 

What had he just done?! Had he really just ran out of the room, leaving his team alone to defend for themselves? Did he really blank completely? What had even happened? He couldn't remember a thing. The only thing in his head was a consistent buzzing and the white noise of people speaking around him. 

He continued to focus on his breathing, trying to calm himself down and distract himself from thinking about what had happened. He watched as his breath puffed out in a little cloud every time he breathed out. It just went to prove just how cold it was outside. Thomas looked around at the scenery of the court yard, finally feeling grounded again. He blinked as his vision cleared, and then blinked again in surprise. He hadn't even realized that his vision had gotten dark around the edges. 

The cold air was refreshing and reviving, making him feel calm and grounded once again. He felt his heart rate slow and his breathing return to normal. Slowly, he pulled his hands out of his hair and placed them on the cold ground instead, palms flat down. 

He swallowed and breathed in through his nose, out through his mouth. 

The panic was over.

But the problem was far from it. 

Thomas knew he'd have to face his teammates again soon, and even worse, face Alexander. But for now, he figured he would just focus on standing up.

His legs were shaky but he managed to do it just fine.

Next step, walking.

That was a little shaky too, but after a few steps he had it under control, even if it felt like he was floating a little bit.

Next, walking up the stairs.

His goal was to just get to his room. If he could do that then he would be safe for a few minutes. He had no idea how much time had passed but he guessed the debate was still on because Hamilton hadn't shown up to murder him yet.

Thomas cringed. Even just thinking about the debate set off a wave of panic through him.

Logically, he knew it wasn't that bad. On his part, yes it was awful, but it really only reflected on him. There were more than enough people on his team to fill in as his replacement, and all of them were quite good actually. Better than Thomas could have done obviously.

He made it to his room. With shaking hands, he pulled out his key card and swiped it across. The audible click of the lock rang out across the empty hallway. He pushed down on the handle and opened the door, feeling the weight of it on his tired muscles. 

He felt light and weak, like he was floating on air. He heard the door slam shut behind him as he walked over to the bed. There was still a slight buzzing in his head. 

He flopped down face first on the mattress and sighed, surrendering. Maybe a nap would clear his head. 

Maybe a nap would clear all his problems away.

He knew that wasn't true, but it was worth a try anyway.

He closed his eyes, and almost immediately fell into a deep sleep.

\-----

Thomas hadn't slept long.

Or at least it didn't feel like it.

But apparently the clock on the bedside table had a different opinion.

It was 9:00.

Had he really slept for five hours?

He groaned and rubbed his tired eyes, pushing his glasses up his face. He really didn't want to deal with anything right then, even though he knew he had to. And frankly, it was actually a miracle Hamilton hadn't already found and murdered him.

Suddenly, and unforgivingly, a wave of anger rolled through him. 

Why had this whole thing happened? Why was he so useless? If he couldn't even handle speaking to a crowd of that size, how was he supposed to become a politician like he wanted?

Thomas was already more than a little annoyed when he heard the loud, rapid knock on his hotel room door. He groaned audibly from his bed. He knew exactly who it was and he really didn't feel like dealing with Hamilton right then. The whole debate fiasco was embarrassing enough, he didn't need to get chewed out by Hamilton for god's sake. But apparently that's what was going to happen since now Alexander was yelling through the door.

"THOMAS OPEN UP WE NEED TO TALK NOW!" he yelled. Thomas could practically hear the steam pouring out of the Caribbean's ears. He felt the hot feeling of anger build up inside of him, and suddenly, he had found an outlet to let it out. Fuck it, if it was a debate Hamilton wanted, it was a debate he was going to get, and this time Thomas wasn't going to hold anything back.

He jumped up off the bed and stomped angrily to the door, turning the knob and swinging it open. In front of him was a fuming Alexander, glaring at him like he was the most horrible person on the planet. Immediately upon opening the door, Alexander shoved past him and into his hotel room. Thomas nearly growled at his ridiculously rude entrance and slammed the door shut before turning around to face Alexander's wrath.

"Ok, what the everlasting fuck was that, Jefferson?!" he said, the rage in his voice apparent even though it sounded like he was trying to keep the volume low, so as not to yell completely. Thomas silently wondered how long that would last. 

"Look, Hamilton. I don't know what happened! I blanked and I didn't know what was going on and I. Couldn't. Speak! Is that so hard to believe?!" Thomas spat, his hands balled in fists. Alexander turned an even darker shade of red (if that was possible) and he took a step towards Thomas.

"Yes it is! You're not incompetent, Jefferson! You know how to speak and you know how to debate! You're actually kind of good at it when you actually try! But you just don't take this seriously! You take NOTHING seriously! You don't care if our team does well- YOU ONLY CARE ABOUT YOURSELF! And I'm so sick and tired of you constantly fucking things up for ME just because you don't want to do them!" Hamilton yelled, flinging his arms up in the air and waving them around maniacally. 

During his yelling rant Alexander had somehow gotten so close to Thomas that Thomas had to look down to meet his eyes. He growled down at Hamilton and restrained himself from picking the little man up and physically throwing him out the door. He worked his jaw as he prepared his reply in his head. If he was going to do this he had to be smart about it.

"You know, for someone who claims to be open-minded you're really fucking blind, Hamilton. You just said that I only care about myself when you KNOW that's not true! You know I care deeply about a lot of things and a lot of people! And- FYI- I care about you! After that exam I tried to talk to you- I tried to HELP YOU but you pushed me away! So don't you-"

"Oh PLEASE THOMAS! Don't give me that 'You wouldn't let me be there for you' bullshit! I was having a fucking panic attack and I didn't feel like dealing with you and your fucking MOUTH ok?"

"Well if you had actually listened to me for a SPLIT SECOND you would have realized that I was going to HELP you not MAKE FUN OF Y-"

"But you're constantly making fun of me so what was I supposed to think?! And don't think for a second you can change the subject here because I'm here to talk about the BULLSHIT YOU JUST PULLED DOWN THERE!!" Alexander screamed. 

Somehow, during their shouting match, Alexander and Thomas had swapped places and now Alexander's back was to the door and Thomas was slowly backing him into a corner. Alexander didn't seem to notice though, he was too busy screaming at Thomas.

"I can't believe you cost our team this win! We were so close!" he said angrily. 

Thomas felt a stab of guilt go through him. So, they had lost, and it was all his fault. But big deal! It was only the first one. The guilt in his gut was quickly replaced with rage again as he scoffed and placed his hands on his hips.

"Oh, please, it was only our first debate we'll have so many other chances-"

"NO- this was our first IMPRESSION! After this none of the other schools are going to take us seriously! They're gonna laugh at us and it's ALL YOUR FAULT!" he cut Thomas off. Thomas felt the jab to his chest but that only made him angrier. He knew it was his fault but he wasn't going to let Hamilton of all people guilt-trip him.

"So what? So what if they laugh at us? We still have a chance to prove ourselves! It doesn't even matter!" he retorted.

"YES IT DOES! It matters because we need to show what we are capable of! We need to show them that we're a good team- that we're the best! That we deserve to win-"

"You know what, Hamilton? I don't think this has anything to do with US or our TEAM! But it does have everything to do with YOU and you're PATHOLOGICAL NEED TO BE LOVED AND ADORED BY EVERYONE!" Thomas yelled as he stepped closer, causing Hamilton to take a couple steps back. 

Alexander looked startled for a second at his words but his anger came rushing back quickly. "And what's THAT supposed to mean?" he growled, looking up with hatred at Thomas equally hateful expression. Thomas took another step forward, shaking with rage.

"I mean you'll literally do ANYTHING to make people think you're the best! You have this gross, undeniable NEED for it! You need EVERY SINGLE FUCKING PERSON to know just how BRILLIANT you are or just how hard working you are! And it gets REALLY FUCKING ANNOYING SOMETIMES!" 

Thomas had now successfully pushed Alexander into the very small hallway before the door. There were two walls on either side of him and the closed door behind him with Thomas blocking his only escape into open space. He was trapped. But he didn't feel like he was being backed into a corner. No, he just felt more angry than ever.

"Excuse me? You think I have a 'pathological need' to be praised by everyone? Since when did you become a fucking psychiatrist? And are you really calling ME the attention whore? YOU'RE the one who goes up to the podium, HAS A FREAKING MENTAL BREAKDOWN, RUNS OUT OF THE ROOM, and LOSES the match for us IN FRONT OF EVERYONE!" Alexander yelled. But unfortunately he didn't get to stay angry for much longer. His expression fell as he saw the last bit of sanity snap inside of Thomas' eyes. His eyes widened as Thomas' narrowed and he bared his teeth like some fucking animal.

"I swear to god, Hamilton," Thomas said, his voice low and quiet, which was actually ten times worse than the yelling, as he placed a hand on Alexander's chest. 

"You are the most ignorant-" Thomas pushed Alexander backwards and he stumbled to regain his footing. 

"-infuriating-" Thomas pushed him backwards again, and now his back was pressed up against the door. 

"-insufferable person I know," Thomas growled. Alexander looked up at him, determined to keep the fear out of his eyes. He didn't want Thomas to know how fast his heart was beating.

But little did Alexander know that Thomas' heart was beating just as fast, although it was for different reasons. Because even though Thomas was angry beyond believe, a more powerful emotion was brewing up inside of him. He had suddenly become completely overwhelmed with his feelings for Alexander, his gross, ugly, romantic feelings. Thomas glared at him, at his huge brown eyes, at his cute furrowed brow, at his soft brown hair that framed his face. God, he was beautiful.

Thomas was suddenly unable to think about what he was doing and his body detached itself from his brain. His arms went up and he grabbed Alexander by the shoulders, shoving him into the door. Alexander grunted and continued to stare up at him in shock and anger. 

"W- what?" Alexander stuttered nervously, although you could tell he was trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice, trying to act brave. Thomas thought he looked absolutely adorable when he tried to act brave. 

"What are you gonna do? You're gonna choke me? You're gonna try to kill me?" Alexander growled, regaining some amount of fight he still had left in him. Thomas just wanted him to shut up. Thomas just wanted to stare at him and admire him. Was that too much to ask?

"Because, let me tell you-" Alexander kept talking. Thomas started to think there was only one way to shut him up. 

"I'm a pretty hard person to-"

Alexander never got to finish that sentence.

Thomas knew he shouldn't do this but his body had gone rogue and all it seemed to want to do was to lean down. Thomas tightened his grip on Alexander's shoulders and pushed him against the door as he leaned down and clashed their lips together, catching Alexander's open mouth mid-sentence and sliding his tongue in with ease. Alexander made some sort of noise in surprise and Thomas felt his shoulders tense up from underneath his firm grip.

Thomas let himself sink into the kiss. He took advantage of the shocked state Alexander was in and flicked his tongue in and out of his open and relaxed mouth. Alexander seemed to let him do whatever he wanted so he licked inside and massaged his tongue and tasted the coffee on his breath. It made sense that Alexander tasted of coffee, it was all he ever ingested. Thomas suddenly felt Alexander's shoulders relax as his tongue dove deeper inside his mouth. Thomas' lungs started to burn for air. He slowed down the kiss and made sure to gather the last taste of Alexander's mouth before parting their lips. A gross, wet smacking sound came after he pulled away and there was even a string of saliva between them. Thomas saw it and somehow that made the realization click inside his brain. 

He gasped and jumped off of Alexander as fast as humanly possible. His eyes widened in horror as he realized what he had just done. He felt the heat rise to his cheeks as he struggled to catch his breath. He flashed his eyes to Alexander. He was collapsed against the wall, panting and staring up at Thomas with a shocked and dazed expression. His cheeks were glowing red. Thomas swallowed thickly and ran a hand through his hair.

"I- I- I-" he stuttered, completely unable to form the right words. How does he explain himself? What should he say? What can he say? 

"I'm so sorry- I- " Thomas never got to finish his sentence. 

His eyes were blown wide in shock as Alexander grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down roughly. Their lips came clashing together again and this time it was Alexander who licked greedily into Thomas' mouth. Thomas' brain officially turned off and his body took over. He grabbed Alexander tightly by the waist and pulled him in closer. Alexander wrapped his arms around Thomas' neck and pulled him down farther. He angled his chin up so that he could catch Thomas' bottom lip in his teeth. He bit down and Thomas moaned as his mind went completely blank. 

He grabbed Alexander by the shoulders and shoved him into the door again. He kissed the boy underneath him roughly and angrily, the boy returning the kiss full force. Alexander's hands traveled down Thomas' back until they were gripping at the small of it, just above his ass. Thomas shoved his weight against Alexander who let out a low groan from somewhere deep inside his chest. 

Their lips parted again so they could both take a second to gasp for air. Thomas didn't even open his eyes before he bent down lower and pressed his lips against Alexander's jawline. He heard the handsome Caribbean gasp as he bit lightly. He moved lower and bit at his neck, this time sucking until he was sure there would be a mark. He licked over the bite mark before moving down and starting another one. Alexander's breathing grew more and more heavy as he continued to attack his neck. 

"T- Thomas!" he gasped when Thomas found a particularly tender spot on his collar bone. Thomas smirked and bit harder, causing Alexander to gasp again and thrust his hips forward. His hands had settled on Thomas ass now and he was practically gripping it for dear life. Thomas smiled smugly and slowly pushed his hips into Alexander's. The grip tightened and the boy moaned, rutting his hips against Thomas'. 

Thomas bit again and he could feel Alexander's arousal press against his thigh as he moved his hips up and down. Thomas felt the blood in his own body start to travel south as he felt Alexander's dick pressing hard against his thigh. He came up and took in Alexander's mouth for another kiss. This time he was completely useless and just let Thomas take whatever he wanted. He moaned as Thomas dug deep into his mouth, thrusting faster. 

Thomas split and took Alexander's hands off his ass and into his own. Alexander's eyes opened and he stared up at Thomas with a hazy look in his eyes and a bright red flush on his face. He panted as Thomas dragged him out of the corner and out to the bed. He went willingly as Thomas flung him onto the bed. He then climbed up himself and placed himself over Alexander who was looking up at him longingly and desperately. Alexander wrapped his arms around Thomas's neck and pulled him down into another kiss, tangling his hands in his mass of curls. Alexander wrapped his leg around Thomas' waist and managed to kick him down so he was lying on top of him. Thomas moaned and thrusted down on Alexander, unable to stop himself.

Then, without warning, Thomas pushed up and off of Alexander who whined at the loss of his weight. Thomas rolled his eyes and looked around the room for his wallet.

"What are you doing?" Alexander whined pathetically from the bed. Thomas spotted his wallet on the desk and ran to it, grabbing it quickly and pulling out what he needed.

"Quit whining and make yourself useful," Thomas snapped as he undid his tie and the buttons on his shirt. Alexander raised an eyebrow but followed suit, undoing his own shirt. Thomas was much quicker though, since he was already striped down to his boxers and on top of Alexander again by the time Alexander had only just undone all the buttons on his shirt. Thomas sighed in annoyance and decided to just do it himself.

"You're so pathetic, you know that?" he snapped as he pulled off Alexander's shirt and threw it on the floor. 

"You know I would normally have an amazing comeback to that shrewd remark but right now there's more blood in my dick than in my brain," Alexander groaned back in annoyance as he became a rag doll and let Thomas undress him. 

"I can see that," Thomas smirked as he pulled down Alexander's pants and boxers and watched his cock spring free. Alexander gasped as Thomas drew his fingers around it and circled his thumb around the head. 

"I h-hate you," Alexander whimpered as Thomas removed his hand and shoved his pants the rest of the way down. 

"The feeling's mutual," Thomas lied as he slipped his hands underneath Alexander's thighs and pushed them up so that he was bent in the knees. Thomas went to press a finger into Alexander when said man gasped suddenly.

"Thomas wait!" he said as he sat up and looked at Thomas with uncertainty. Thomas frowned. 

"What?" he asked, slightly annoyed at how Alexander just killed the mood. But his annoyance was replaced with concern when Alexander looked away nervously and muttered something. 

"What?" Thomas asked again. Alexander sighed and tried again.

"I've never..." he trailed off because he couldn't finish that sentence. Thomas' eyes went wide and his mouth fell open.

"You're a virgin?" he exclaimed in disbelief as Alexander turned a bright shade of red. Of course it didn't really matter to Thomas, he had just never suspected Alexander to be a-

"I've had sex, dumbass!" Alexander snapped angrily, locking eyes with Thomas who felt slightly stupid for assuming. 

"Just-" Alexander averted his gaze again and looked away angrily, "- with girls." he finished.

Thomas blinked.

"Oh."

Thomas smiled slyly as understanding sank in.

"/Oh./"

Alexander glared at him. "Don't look so smug this doesn't mean you're special or anything," he snapped. Thomas smirked and shifted to get into a better position on top of Alexander. He was suddenly hornier than ever.

"I'm the first person ever to /fuck/ Alexander Hamilton," he purred as he pressed a hand to Alexander's chest and forced him to lay back down. He leaned into his ear and whispered, "Lucky me."

"Ok, ok I get it- NNGH!" Alexander gasped as Thomas pressed a single finger up his ass. 

"Shh, shh, shh," Thomas hushed in what was more of a mocking tone instead of a reassuring one. "Don't worry, just relax," he purred as he kissed Alexander's knee and pressed up further inside of him, causing him to let out a small whimper. "I'll go slow, don't worry," Thomas kept reassuring him in that slightly mean voice that wasn't doing a good job of actually reassuring Alexander.

Thomas did go slow though, and he was careful not to hurt Alexander (too much). Alexander for his part was twisting the bedsheets in his hands as Thomas slowly worked him open, his heart beating fast in anticipation and desire. When Thomas got to three fingers Alexander was starting to shake. He threw his head back and moaned as the pleasure built up inside him. His dick was painfully hard and leaking like a storm but he dared not remove his hands from where they were tangled in the sheets.

And just when he thought he couldn't stand it a second longer, Thomas pulled his fingers out. Alexander gasped and arched his back, longing for some sort of release. He could feel the sweat trickled down his forehead and the back of his neck. He swallowed dryly and opened his eyes. Thomas was rolling on a condom, he closed his eyes again.

"Are you part sloth or something? Hurry up!" he whined desperately. He heard Thomas tut and say something about him being a whiny baby but he didn't really care. He was about to snap at him again but he didn't have time. He shouted loudly as Thomas pressed into him, filling him quickly and fully. 

"Shit! Holy shit," Alexander whimpered as Thomas pulled back and thrusted into him again. He whimpered as he did it a second time. And then again. And again. Alexander threw his head back and let each thrust send racking jolts of pleasure through his body. He didn't think it was the possible to feel so much pain and pleasure at the same time. 

Thomas grunted suddenly as Alexander's walls tightened around his dick. He quickened the pace and relished in the beautiful moans that spilled from Alexander's mouth. It was like some sort of song to Thomas. He groaned. 

"Oh my god, this shouldn't feel so good," Alexander muttered uselessly. Thomas took that as a challenge and snapped his hips forward, causing Alexander to literally shriek.

"You're... so... loud!" Thomas said in between thrusts. The air felt as though it was getting thinner and thinner around Thomas' head and he had to breath heavily. Alexander pushed up to meet Thomas next thrust and the both of them gasped. 

"Fuck! Thomas- harder- please!" Alexander begged, his legs wrapping around Thomas' waist. Thomas didn't have to be told twice and his next thrust managed to hit Alexander just right because he let out an almost inhuman sound. Thomas felt himself start to come impossible close to finishing without actually being able to finish. He went faster and harder, breathing desperately as his muscles started to ache in pleasure and satisfaction. He was so fucking close.

"Ah! Thomas- I'm gonna-" Alexander cried. He couldn't stand it anymore. He managed to tear his hand away from the sheets and fisted his cock desperately. The extra friction was just enough and he went spiralling over the edge. He cried out as he came, fast and hard, and stroked himself through his orgasm. 

Thomas watched as Alexander touched himself and came all over his own hand. It was dirty and filthy and just enough to make him come as well. He bit his lip as he shuddered and spasmed. He kept thrusting into Alexander until both of them were well spent and over stimulated. Then, he pulled out and collapsed.

The both of them laid there catching their breath and trying to regain some sort of strength. Alexander had none, he thought he would never be able to move again. He gazed at the ceiling in a haze as the world spun around him. He thought he heard Thomas get up but he wasn't sure. He felt as though he was worlds away, or lost in the middle of the ocean. The spinning world started to slow and his eyelids got droopy. And just as he was about to close them he felt something wet and warm being pressed to the base of his stomach. 

He shot up and saw Thomas with a washcloth in his hands. Alexander, still a bit hazy and confused, took it from him and muttered, "I can do that." Thomas shrugged and went back to the bathroom. He already had his pants back on. 

Alexander suddenly felt all the drowsiness evaporate as he realized what had actually just happened. His eyes widened. His mouth fell open. 

"Shit," he whispered. He had just had sex with Thomas Jefferson. He had literally just slept with the enemy! His enemy! He looked around wildly for his clothes and pulled them on as fast as he could.

Thomas emerged from the bathroom and raised an eyebrow as he saw Alexander hoping around to get his other leg through the leg-hole in his pants.

"Aaaand what's going on now?" Thomas asked as he watched Alexander jump up and shimmy into his pants. He looked up and narrowed his eyes at Thomas as he did up the zipper and button. 

"Listen here motherfucker," he said as he pulled his shirt on and did the buttons up completely wrong. "This-" he gestured between him and Thomas and the bed, "-this never happened, ok?" He walked toward the door and picked up his shoes.

"What?" Thomas asked, his brow knitted in hurt and confusion. Alexander whirled around and glared at him. 

"This never happened," Alexander repeated. "And if you say it did I will deny it 'till the end of time, got it?"

Thomas looked at him incredulously. Was he serious? He felt a sharp pang to the heart as Alexander continued to glare at him with as much hatred as before, if not more. This had meant nothing to Alexander. Nothing had changed. He still hated Thomas. He felt as though his heart was being ripped from his chest.

"Ugh. Goodbye," Alexander said in annoyance and disgust as he opened the door, walked out, and slammed it shut. Thomas flinched at the loud sound. 

For the longest time, Thomas didn't move. He stood there, staring at the closed door in disbelief. Hoping beyond hope that Alexander would come back through it and apologize. That Alexander would come back through it and take his hand. That Alexander would come back through it and hold him and tell him that he loved him. 

But no such thing happened.

\-----

Alexander sat pressed up against the window in his seat on the bus. He had his knees draw up close to his chest, his heels resting on the edge of the seat. His arms were wrapped around his legs and his head was resting between his knees.

It was his 'I feel awful and I just wanna curl up in a ball and die' position. 

And the truth was, he did feel awful. Absolutely horrible in fact. Because not only did he manage to lose his first debate, he also had managed to sleep with someone he despised and officially hit rock bottom.

Alexander cringed into his knees.

And the worst part was, he had /enjoyed/ it. Hell, he'd never had better sex in his life! And he was kind of a slut too, so the idea completely boggled him. He'd had great sex before, but last night was other worldly, and he hated it.

He hated it because it was with the one person he hated the most. Or- it was, right? He was supposed to hate Thomas right? That's how it had always been, right? 

But... 

Alexander felt something tighten in his chest.

But he didn't hate Thomas. He doesn't hate Thomas. Not at all. Not even close. 

He swallowed hard, feeling the guilt eat him alive. 

The image of Thomas' face, hurt and confused, flashed before his eyes for the hundredth time that morning. And the stab he felt in his chest was getting worse each time he remembered it.

He had really hurt Thomas, hadn't he? And the idea of hurting him made Alexander feel so awful he thought he was going to throw up. 

And it wasn't like he could take it back now. He had said what he had said, he couldn't go back in time and change it. And he could apologize- he /should/ apologize, but after what he'd said he doubted Thomas would ever want to talk to him again.

How had he managed to fuck things up so badly in just one weekend?

And now, Thomas still hadn't shown up on the bus and they were about to leave. What was taking him so long? Alexander didn't want to feel worried but he couldn't help it. He glanced around the bus nervously, thinking maybe he somehow managed to miss the massive head of black curls the other three times he checked.

But just then, he heard the doors sweep open. He looked up to the front to see Thomas walk on, his bag thrown carelessly on his shoulder, his hair even wilder than normal, and his eyes bloodshot. He staggered on and raised his eyes to the people on the bus. Alexander could see guilt and regret flash across his pretty face. Yes, even when he was sleep deprived he was still so fucking pretty. 

Thomas' eyes landed on Alexander, and he instinctively tended up under his gaze. They held eye contact for a second, Alexander felt it burn holes through him. Thomas' eyes looked so sad, so lost. But then, something changed. For a split second, Alexander saw the exact moment Thomas snapped from sad to defensive, clearing pushing Alexander to the back corners of his mind. Then, he turned and addressed the whole bus.

"Listen up everybody," Thomas called, ordering everyone on the bus to pay attention to him. He cleared his throat, and Alexander could tell just by observing him that this was very hard for him to do.

"I know I messed up yesterday. I cost our team a win and that's all on me. It wasn't fair to any of you that that had happened, but I am taking full responsibility for it. And that's why-"

Thomas paused to take a deep breath, clearly fighting himself to say what he had to say next.

Alexander hung on his every word, waiting with impatience as his heart hammered away aggressively. 

"I'm taking myself off the team." Thomas finally finished his sentence. He swallowed harshly, running an absent minded hand through his messy hair.

"You guys don't need me on the team, especially if I'm going to screw up like I did yesterday. You're all great at debating and public speaking, and you deserve better."

Thomas huffed out a short breath of air, almost as a laugh, and smiled sadly to himself. 

"I guess this just isn't my thing."

His smile faded. He lowered his hand and shook his head, bringing himself back to reality.

"Anyways, I hope you all forgive me, though I understand if you don't. And I wish you luck with your future debates. You should expect to do better without me. Ok, that's it. I'm done now." 

Thomas hesitated awkwardly for a second, before throwing his bag onto the first empty seat and sitting down. The bus driver then started to pull away from the hotel.

Alexander sat in a daze, still trying to wrap his head around what Thomas had just said. Did he just... quit?

Alexander looked around at the other people on the bus. They all looked equally shocked, though some of them still looked a bit pissed off as well. 

He turned to face forward again and studied the chair Thomas was sitting in, even though all he could see of the boy was the top of his curly head. 

He just couldn't believe it. Why had Thomas done that? Did he really believe all the things he had said? That the team would be better off without him? Was he really that selfish and stupid?

Alexander frowned, trying to make himself angry. Trying beyond belief to make himself mad that Thomas would just abandon the team, that Thomas would just leave him like that! But it wasn't working. All he felt was sad and empty and guilty. 

Sad because he knew Thomas felt sad and awful and that was making him feel sad and awful. 

Empty because he was still in shock. Shocked about what had happened and at the amount of emotions swirling inside him. There were so many that it made him feel nothing. Empty.

And guilty because, well, this was also partially his fault. Had he not yelled so much at Thomas yesterday, maybe he wouldn't have felt the need to quit the team.

Maybe this was all /his/ fault.

But of course, he couldn't say any of this to anyone, especially not Thomas. Thomas hated him now, he'd just have to deal with it.

Alexander wished that he could feel empty again, feel nothing. But now, all he could feel was his heart slowly breaking.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> :)
> 
> :)
> 
>  
> 
> I’m baaaaaaaack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok y’all I am SO SORRY!
> 
> I was gone for... uhhh... a hot minute to say the least. I know, I know. But I’m back! I’m here! And I have a new chapter!
> 
> I just wanted to say, I did not give up on this fic and I have every intention of finishing it. Life has just been crazy (and not in a good way) and I didn’t have time or motivation to write much these past few months.
> 
> But I’ve found inspiration again! Unfortunately... it was due to heart break. But you know, pain makes for great inspiration:,)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this totally not proofread but very good chapter, and thank you so much to those of you who are still reading and enjoying this fic, it means the absolute world to me.

Alexander Hamilton is smart. Actually, he’s not only smart, he’s a genius. Of course, he’s only heard a few people say that, but he digressed. 

He’s smart. He knows that. He’s able to think things through logically and he’s great at problem solving and thinking on the spot. He’s good under pressure and he can argue his way out of just about any problem he finds himself in. 

So then, if he’s so smart, /why/ couldn’t he solve the biggest problem happening in his life right now?

Why couldn’t he figure out why Thomas was ignoring and avoiding him?

Why couldn’t he figure out why his heart felt so heavy every time he saw Thomas and Thomas pretended he wasn’t there. 

And why, /why/, couldn’t he figure out what he was feeling?

Alexander could solve any problem, whether it be politics, math, physics, or psychology. Whether it be big or small, important or useless, he could solve it. And at the very least he could argue his was out of it.

But not this one. Because there was no one to argue with.

Besides himself.

And, actually, he’d done a lot of that over the last two weeks. 

But he still couldn’t reach a conclusion. He couldn’t solve it. Not by himself. He needed help. 

He needed a friend. 

And that’s how he ended up sitting on Eliza’s couch, a cloud of anxious thoughts and worries swarming over him as she doted on him and got him a cup of tea because, “really, Alexander, you look like you haven’t slept in years.” 

“So.” she prompted, holding her own steaming cup of tea with both hands. “Why do you look awful?”

Alexander shot her a half assed glare over his shoulders and she laughed light heartedly. 

“I’m only teasing,” she said, poking him in the knee with her foot. Alexander just sighed and rubbed his temples. Eliza frowned.

“Ok, seriously, what’s wrong? You’re not yourself,” she said, her tone changing from teasing to concerned.

“What’s wrong...” Alexander repeated, weighing the question in his head. There was so much wrong... where did he even begin? He sighed again.

“Ok, well firstly, I did something really bad. And I feel horrible about it. And I can’t do anything to fix it and I just-...” he stopped, unable to form anything coherent as his mind whirled at 200 miles per second. 

“What did you do?” Eliza asked flatly.

Alexander grimaced. 

“You won’t like it.”

“Well it’s obviously bothering you enough to make you feel this horrible about it, so maybe just tell me and get it off your chest? It could help. And who knows? Maybe I could help you with it.” 

Alexander stared at Eliza, wearing a worn, but fond expression. God, this girl was his guardian angel wasn’t she?

“Ok. I guess I’ll just say it then,” he said, turning away so he didn’t have to look her in the eye. 

“I slept with Thomas.”

He heard her gasp.

He held up his hand to stop her from saying anything because he definitely wasn’t done yet. 

“And yes, I enjoyed it. Loved it, actually. Which was a shocking and interesting revelation honestly. But what I didn’t love was the fact that it was with Thomas, the guy who was supposed to be my rival. My enemy.

“Sooo,” Alex took a deep breath, “I kinda threatened him and told him to never speak of it again.” Alex grimaced at the thought of it again, and put his hand back up because he could just /feel/ Eliza sitting on the edge of her seat with her mouth open, just waiting to say something. And he would let her, but she had to know the whole story first.

“And I think it might have offended him, because he looked pretty upset about it. But I was just so confused and I... I guess I panicked. I panicked because I didn’t want to admit that maybe I... don’t hate him? That maybe I don’t actually think of him as my enemy... maybe I actually kind of... like him?

“But that’s crazy, right?! I mean, I guess it’s not that crazy... but... anyways it doesn’t matter now! None of it matters because Thomas won’t speak to me- he won’t even look at me! He hates me and I deserve it. I was such an asshole, Eliza! I was blind and dumb and stupid and now I’ve ruined things between us forever!” Alexander finished with a long, loud exhale as he slumped back against the couch, his palms pressing flat against his closed eyelids. 

He expected Eliza to say something right away, but there was suddenly a moment of silence that fell upon them. Alexander gripped his head with his hands, slowly running them back and through his messy hair. He finally got the nerve to look over at Eliza. She was staring straight ahead, a complex look on her face. She was judging him. God, he’d really screwed up so bad that even Eliza Schuyler, the purest human on Earth, was judging him. Great.

“Well... that’s a lot to unpack.” she said eventually, pouting as the wheels in her head continued to spin. 

“I’m a horrible, terrible human being.” Alexander groaned.

Eliza breathed out a laugh and shook her head lightly.

“No. No... you’re just a little confused. And maybe a little bit stupid. And... ok maybe a little mean too. I mean, you could have handled this better.”

“I know! I know, I fucked up. I hurt Thomas, I know I did, and just the fact that he’s upset is making my heart hurt, but the fact that /I/ hurt him is making my heart /break/.” Alexander sighed and brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, burying his chin between his knees. 

“Wow...” Eliza breathed.

“What?” Alexander asked, his voice muffled since his head was now between his knees. 

“You really care about him.” she said, turning to look at him. Alexander poked his head back up and frowned at her.

“Well, I mean I care about him sure-“

“No no no no no. I mean you /really/ care about him. Like a lot. It’s written all over your face.” she said, pointing at Alexander’s worn out, sleep deprived face. She smiled at him. “You love him.”

Alexander snorted ineloquently and rolled his eyes.

“I don’t-“

And just as if he had been struck by lightening, it hit him. 

Thomas’ smile.

Thomas’ laugh. 

His eyes. His nose. His hair. His glasses. His sarcastic comments. His jokes. His passion. His drive. His look of concentration. His eye rolls. His dorkiness. His hot headed attitude. His shinning personality. The way he cares about Alex. The way he cares about people. The way he wants to help people. All his likes. His dislikes. His smirk. His frown. His hands. His lips his cheeks his-

“Oh my god...” Alex said under his breath as everything fell into place.

Thomas.

It was all Thomas. 

It was all he thought about. He was the one person always on his mind. He was the one Alexander cared about the most. He was the one Alexander wanted to be around the most. He was the one Alexander loved to talk to, to argue with, to just be in the company of. 

It was Thomas. 

“Oh my god! I love him!” Alexander nearly shouted, jumping up and standing as his heart filled with a kind of joy he’d never really felt before. It felt like he was soaring! 

But then it came crashing down.

“Oh no...” Alexander’s smile fell as he fell back down on the couch, the reality of his recent actions settling back in and causing his heart to feel like it was being wrenched from him body. 

“Oh no... oh /shit/. I really fucked up, didn’t I?” he muttered, his head falling into his hands. He swallowed down the lump in his throat as he turned to Eliza. 

“What am I gonna do? What /can/ I do?? Thomas... hates me....” That sent a stab to his heart.

Eliza sighed and shook her head. 

“I’m sure he doesn’t hate you. I’m sure it’s the opposite, actually. But he is hurt, and you did hurt him. So now you have to make it right and talk to him. Just talk to him.” She said softly, kindly smiling at him.

“But... he’s been avoiding me. What if he won’t listen to me? What if he just walks away... what if it’s already too late?”

“That doesn’t matter, because you have to try anyway. You need to apologize, you need to tell him how you feel. He deserves that much at least.”

“You’re right,” Alexander nodded. “You’re right, he does deserve the truth. But he also deserves so much better than me...” 

“Hmm. Maybe so.” Eliza said. Alexander glared. She grinned. 

“But, even so, he’d be lucky to have you. You’re pretty great.” she smiled at him. Alexander returned the smile, forever grateful for her. 

“Now, go get him!” she urged as she pushed Alexander off the couch and out the door. 

———

“John!”

John Laurens looked up from his phone screen, which he had been staring at while he was walking back to his dorm room. He’d gotten into the habit more lately, since he had been avoiding talking to either Herc or Laf, the latter of the two was especially hard because he literally lived with them. But now, low and behold, Hercules was standing right outside his room, wearing a look of strained enthusiasm.

John frowned as he became very uncomfortable. This was his best friend of many years... he shouldn’t feel this awkward just meeting him in the hall. 

But, it was like John couldn’t recognize him anymore. He didn’t even know who he was anymore, so were they really still best friends? 

“I think Laf’s in class.” he replied, his voice monotone as he felt his insides twist uncomfortably. He hardened his expression, determined not to show any emotion as he moved past Herc to open the door. 

“I- uhhh... was actually here to see you.” Hercules stumbled awkwardly. 

“That’s a first.” John said snidely. 

Whoops. So much for betraying no emotion.

He pushed open the door and went inside, leaving it open for Hercules to decide whether to come in or not.

He came in.

John heard him close the door and sigh.

“Look... dude...” he started, and John could literally feel him struggling to find the right words to say. It stressed him out, knowing Herc was this tense, and he felt bad because he was the reason why. A small bit of sympathy washed over him and pushed his anger away just a bit. He turned to face Hercules, let him know he was listening. Herc saw, and his eyes flashed with hope for a brief second.

“I don’t know exactly what I did to make you upset, but you clearly are because you won’t talk to me or Laf.” Hercules finally said, a perplexed look on his face as he kept trying in vain to find the right words to say. And if he was still the Hercules Mulligan he knew, then John knows that he probably rehearsed what to say before hand, and then proceeded to forget everything he had prepared in the moment of it.

Still, he persisted, and that alone was something to admire because he knew how much Hercules hates awkward, heart-to-heart conversations and lengthy apologies.

“I just... I don’t understand, I guess. I know you must be angry because we didn’t tell you... a-about us...” he gulped, “And you didn’t exactly find out in the best way possible either but- like- why can’t you just be happy for us?” Hercules was starting to get frustrated, John could tell, but he continued to stay silent and let him speak his mind. 

“I mean, Laf and I are really happy. I’m really happy. I’ve never met anyone as good as them before, I’ve never really felt this way about anyone before and I really don’t wanna screw it up! So... it would kinda be nice to have my best friend back so he could help me with all of it... I could really use him,” Hercules looked up at John, the vaguest hint of sadness in his dark eyes. “And I really miss him.”

At first, there was silence. Completely, unbearable, awkward silence as John turned his words over in his head. He crossed his arms over his chest and bit the inside of his cheek, contemplating what to say. 

But he knew exactly what to say.

“Well... your apologies have gotten better, I’ll admit.” John looked up at his best friend with a small smirk and a teasing glint in his eyes.

Hercules was confused for a second, but then he smiled and let out a breathy laugh, shaking his head as he chuckled. John laughed a little too.

“Does that mean we’re good?” Herc asked, the exhaustion of the awkward situation showing right through him. He just desperately wanted things to be ok again, and John knew he was sorry... so...

“Yeah.” he nodded, breathing out another laugh. “Yeah, we’re good.”

Just then, they heard the lock click and the door swung open, nearly whacking Herc in the back. Lafayette took a step inside before stopping in their tracks and looking back and forth between the both of them in confusion. 

“What...” Lafayette stepped all the way inside and let the door swing shut behind them. They continued to look from John to Herc, Herc to John, their expression growing more and more concerned. “... Is this??”

John smiled, he couldn’t help it.

“Hey Laf,” he said, drawing their attention to him as he smiled as genuinely as he knew how. 

And apparently it was enough because Lafayette’s face lit up with hope as their eyes widened. They let out a small gasp.

“Are you speaking with me again?” they asked softly, cautiously as if they couldn’t bear to hear the negative response to that question. John just rolled his eyes at them, but kept his smile sincere.

“Yeah. I guess I had to sooner or later,” he shrugged.

Lafayette gasped again, this time for joy, as they brought their arms up to squeeze against their chest, a smile as bright as the sun on their face. 

“I am so relieved!” they exclaimed happily as they ran over to him and flung their arms around him tightly. John stiffened underneath them, but really he was just happy Laf was so happy. If only they wouldn’t squeeze him so tightly. 

“I was worried that you might hate me now,” Laf said, their hold on him only tightening. John felt a pang of guilt run through him. He hadn’t meant for it to seem like that...

He brought his hand up and patted their back softly.

“I never hated you,” he said while smiling and rolling his eyes because, really, how could anyone hate Lafayette? 

The person in question made some odd squealing noise and just hugged him tighter.

“Hercules! Come.” Lafayette ordered, releasing one of their arms to hold out for Herc to join them.

“Oh. That’s ok, I don’t-“

“Now!”

And then Hercules was being pulled into their death grip too, because who could say no to Lafayette? 

———

Alexander was a literal ball of nerves. He couldn’t think he’d ever been this nervous about anything before in his life. His hands shook violently as he paced the men’s washroom, muttering to himself, rehearsing the speech he had planned.

He’d gone over it so many times in his head, muttering it to himself constantly. Just repeating it over and over again until it was ingrained in his mind. This was also the tactic he used when he was studying, so it was safe to say that his roommate, Burr, had gotten used to it by now. 

But the only problem was, the more he rehearsed it, the more he actually listened to what he was planning on saying to Thomas, the more he hated it.

Nothing seemed right! He had tried countless things, ripped apart countless drafts and still nothing felt right. He was beginning to think it was impossible to come up with the perfect thing to say. 

And that was the truth, there /wasn’t/ a perfect way to say this. There just wasn’t. He had screwed up in the biggest way imaginable and there was no way to fix it perfectly, nothing he could say that would just make Thomas forgive him. Nothing at all.

Which sucked! It really really sucked because Alexander was so good with this sort of thing! He was so good with words and arguing and convincing people! He was so good in fact that he was trying to make a career for himself out of it!

But this... there was no arguing. There was no convincing. There was no three point essay with thorough evidence to support his claims. There was no high pressure debate against an opponent of equally matched intellect who had just as much competitiveness as he did. There were no grades, no facts, no academic pressure. Just Thomas.

And Thomas hates him now.

So what can he do? What can he say? How could he ever possibly make it up to him, get him to forgive him and come back to him? 

Alexander knew there was no answer. Because he couldn’t make Thomas do anything. He was his own person, and in the end he would decide whether to forgive him or not. So, there really was nothing he could do.

Ok, scratch that. Nothing he could do but /try/. 

——-

“So. Now that we are amis once more,” Lafayette started, grinning ear to ear as them, John, and Herc all laid on their dorm room floor, staring at the ceiling, high as kites. 

“What eez going on wit’ you and Alexander?” Apparently, Laf’s accent got thicker when they were high. Just like when they were drunk. Hercules snickered at it. 

“What eez so funny? Huh?” Lafayette frowned as they smacked Hercules across the face, which just made him laugh harder.

“Oh man! Oh man... you sound like Pepe LePew!” Hercules howled, clutching at his sides as he gasped for air. John started chuckling too, and Lafayette couldn’t help but start as well. 

“Oh vraiment ‘Ercules, gagne une sense de maturité ou va te faire foutre.”

Hercules and John wailed with laughter. 

“I have no idea what that means!” Hercules cried out as he wiped a tear from his eye.

“I think they said ‘go fuck yourself’!” John gasped out through his laughter. 

“Laf! How could you say that to meeee!” Hercules said, trying to sound offended but failing as the laughter kept bubbling out of him. 

“Oh mon dieu,” Lafayette said, shaking their head as they giggled at the two of them. 

“But I ask you a question, non? What happened with you and Alexander?” Lafayette repeated themselves, poking John’s cheek repeatedly.

“Nothing!” John complained, pushing their finger away. “We’re friends still, ‘course, but that’s it. He’ll never feel the same way and I get that.”

“But you didn’t even try!” Hercules replied exasperatedly.

John shook his head, probably harder than he had to. “No. No. Didn’t have to. I know he’s not into me. Besides, he’s head over heels for Jefferson, ooobviously.” 

They all snickered at that. 

“Yeah, that dude is so dumb. I mean, really really smart, but also kinda dumb.” Hercules agreed.

“‘E eez just confusss-... confunzzz.... con... con- What?” 

Hercules and John were dying from laughter again.

“Stop!!! How do you say that word again?” Lafayette whined. 

“Confused!” John and Hercules shouted at the same time as they literally rolled on the floor, laughing. 

“Ah! Yes! That.” 

They all laughed for a while, longer than what they probably would have, had they been sober. But after a while, they settled and a comfortable silence washed over them all. 

“No, but really guys,” John said, breaking the silence as he turned to his friends. “I’m fine with it. We’re still friends and that’s good enough for me. I’ll get over this eventually.”

“Mmhmm, Yeah.” Herc said, nodding. “Or. I could set you up with someone and you could have tons of meaningless sex to get over him now instead!” 

They all burst out laughing again. 

And John was happy. He really was. For him, and for Alex. And for his two friends who seemed to be madly in love. He was happy.

——-

This was it.

Alexander’s heart pounded in his ears.

He was finding it hard to breathe.

This is it.

It was now, it had to be now. He had to do this. 

There were five minutes left in their lecture, and then it would end and Thomas would rush out of there so fast it would be like he disappeared. So, Alexander had to be even faster. He had to get to Thomas so he could talk to him because otherwise he wouldn’t see him again until the end of the week, and he just couldn’t wait that long.

The minutes ticked by slowly.

Four...

This was unbearable. Alexander gazed at the back of Thomas’ head. His heart felt heavy in his chest when he did, remembering all the awful things he’s ever said to him. He winced as he went back to staring at the clock.

He was going to apologize for everything. He was going to make this better. 

Two...

He swallowed dryly. He ran through the speech again in his head. He had been doing that the whole lecture. His heart pounded faster and faster as his brain went fuzzy. What was the next line again...?

One...

Shit. Shit! What was it?! What came after that?? 

Alexander dug his nails into his sweaty palms. 

The lecture ended. The professor dismissed the class. Everyone stood up. Alexander blinked in confusion. What was going on again?

Wait- Thomas!

Alexander jumped up and bolted out of the room, shoving past the other students and elbowing his way to the door, not even bothering with apologies. He ran out the door and instantly started to scan the crowded halls for Thomas’ curly hair.

He saw him! Thomas turned the corner and vanished from view. Alexander ran after him.

He turned the corner and raced down the stairs, taking them two at a time. The stairwell lead to a door, Alexander pushed it open and was met with the cold, cruel January air. He didn’t care. He ran outside and into the courtyard, racing after the only other person out there. 

“Thomas!” he called out, slowing to a jog as he neared him. He gasped, out of breath from the run, and tried again when the boy didn’t turn around. 

“Thomas!”

Thomas turned around. He was wearing a navy blue coat and black jeans, a green scarf wrapped around his neck. He was frowning, confused, with his brow furrowed and- oh god he was wearing his glasses. 

But the look of confusion instantly changed to one of shock upon seeing Alexander, and then morphed into one of complete fear for a split second, before he scrunched up his face in hurt and anger, turning away from Alexander and balling his gloved hands in fists. 

“What do you want?” he spat out, his jaw clenched. Alex could see Thomas was doing everything in his power to hold himself back. But whether it was to hold in tears or rage, he didn’t know. All he knew was that Thomas was physically shaking, and it didn’t seem good. 

He took a deep breath, forcing all his bad feelings about this down because he had to do this. No matter what, Thomas had to know the truth and he needed an apology. He deserved that much at least.

“Look, I just want to talk. I need to say some things to you... I owe you that much-“

Thomas breathed out sharply through his nose and snapped, “you don’t owe me anything. I don’t need anything from you.”

Alexander felt the jab, but he ignored it. He tried to recover, tried to remember the next part of his speech, or any part at all would be helpful right now! He opened his mouth.

“No... I guess you don’t.” he said slowly, staring at the ground. This was pathetic. He was pathetic. But he needed to keep going. “But you deserve to know the truth about what happened-“

Thomas let out a high pitched laugh, causing Alexander to look up at him again.

“The truth?” Thomas asked, shaking even more than before. He looked up and met Alexander’s eyes, and suddenly Alexander wished he would go back to staring at the ground. There was just... so much in them. So much pain. So much anger. So much hatred. So much hurt. It was heart breaking. And Alexander did this to him.

“The truth is- Alexander- you used me!” Thomas spat harshly, leaning forward to get in Alexander’s space just a little. 

“What?” Alexander gasped, moving to take a tiny step back, unable to breathe from the sheer intensity of Thomas’ glare. “No I... Thomas-“ 

“Save it! I don’t want to hear it.” Thomas said, leaning back again, his anger somehow dissipating a little and being replaced with apathy. 

Alex went to try again. He had to try again. He had to do this, he had to get this right.

“Thomas, please just let me talk. Please. I have to apologize I have to-“

“No!” Thomas yelled. “I don’t want your apology! I don’t want anything from you.” He took a couple steps back, his legs wobbled as he shook. His face was contorted, twisted with pain and anger. Alexander would say he was holding back tears, if he didn’t know better. 

And then, again, Thomas just deflated. He sighed, his shoulders dropped, and his anger was just replaced with emptiness.

“Just... leave me alone.” he muttered, turning around. 

“No! Thomas- /listen/!” Alexander lunged forward and grabbed Thomas’ hand, desperately. 

It was the wrong move. 

Thomas stopped, froze. He stood inhumanly still for a moment, before whipping around and wrenching his wrist out from Alexander’s grasp, bringing it back by his side in a fist. Thomas took a step forward, shaking once again.

“I said, leave. Me. Alone!” Thomas yelled, his voice going hoarse as it shook and broke. 

Alexander jumped backwards, stunned by his reaction. He felt a piercing pain stab at his heart, and then run through his body, making chills run up and down his spin. He blinked at Thomas with wide, fearful eyes. This... this couldn’t be happening. This isn’t what he had planned... this....

Is so much worse than he could have imagined.

Thomas turned to leave, and Alexander wasn’t going to stop him this time. He watched as Thomas took three steps, stopped, and then turned right back around to glare at Alexander once more. 

“You know... why would you even try to apologize? What could you possibly gain from it?” Thomas started again, his voice lower in volume but not any less full of hatred, anger, or pain. But maybe a little crueler. A little meaner. His face twisted again. He took a shaky step forward, and Alexander stood there and just watched. What else could he do. 

“What else could you use me for, hmm? I mean, you’ve already taken as much as you could from me! I was your enemy. I was your competition. I was your motivation. I was your punching bag! Your practice! And then-“ Thomas let out a shaky laugh “- and then I was your comfort! Your emotional support! I was there for you to just pour all your feelings and your fucked up past on! And I- I let myself be vulnerable to you! And then what? You just dropped me? Shut me out? Pretended like it didn’t even happen! I was /nothing/ to you, Alexander!” 

Thomas took another step forward. He was shaking so much. He was so full of emotions Alexander couldn’t explain. And he was crying now. He was. There were small tears running down his face. And Alexander put them there. This was his fault.

Alexander stood and listened and watched. Listened as all of his greatest mistakes were shoved in his face. Listened to how much he had hurt the person he loved. And watched as he broke to pieces right in front of him. 

“And then- as if ALL OF THAT wasn’t enough- you went and you slept with me! You were intimate with me AGAIN and AGAIN you wanted to pretend like it didn’t happen! You wanted to throw me away like I’m nothing- AGAIN!” 

Thomas was breaking. More tears fell. Alexander could feel his own start to well up in his eyes. Could feel the lump rise in his throat, feel his chest tighten unbearably. 

“So then I have one question for you.” Thomas continued, taking a step back this time. “What was I to you? Your rival? Your comfort? Your source of extra self-esteem? Your- your fucking /source of sexual experimentation/? What?! Tell me because I can’t decide!! And what else could you possibly expect me to think when you try to apologize, other than know you’re only doing it so you can use me again. Well, I’m not gonna let you. Not ever again. So-“ Thomas sucked in a deep breath and straightened himself, raising his head high as he held back the rest of his tears. “-as I said before: leave me the HELL alone.” 

And Thomas walked away. 

He left. 

And Alexander stood there, frozen to the spot as silent tears ran down his face. He didn’t even notice the wind had picked up. He didn’t feel the freezing cold air bite at his face or freeze his tears to his face. No... all he felt was his heart shattering, which felt equally as numb as it did painful. 

He had hurt Thomas in ways he didn’t even know he could. 

This was so much worse than he could ever have imagined.

He felt empty, but he felt overwhelming pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel bad for projecting my heart brokenness onto Alex and Tom But.... 
> 
> Also, the translation is: oh, really Hercules, grow up or go f*** yourself.
> 
> I love Lafayette.
> 
> That is all, thank you bye.

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, that's chapter one! I hope you liked it! It was just an introduction to some of the characters so sorry if it wasn't that exciting, but don't worry, things will heat up A LOT in a little while. Also, I'm going to be updating this fic once a week, probably on Mondays (because let's face it, Mondays suck and if this is something I can look forward to it'll make my life a little brighter) so there will be an update this Monday, but if I'm unable to or my posting schedule changes, I'll be sure to let you know! 
> 
> And I'll say this again, I really appreciate comments and feedback so please PLEASE tell me what you thought! BUT! If you're going to just post negative things then you can leave, I don't like haters and if you think it's so bad then you don't have to read it. That being said, I still really hope you liked it because I liked writing it:) ok, that's it! Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys Monday!


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